Iowa man to get diploma after missing ceremony

An Iowa man who skipped his college graduation to serve in the military during World War II will finally get his degree.

Wentworth Military Academy and College in Lexington, Mo., has announced it will present Milo Deuel, 90, of Boone, will his junior college diploma at a Dec. 7 ceremony. The event at the Eastern Star Mason Home in Boone coincides with the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which led to the United States' entry into the war.

The college recently learned that Deuel had earned his Associate of Arts degree but never got his diploma because he was called to active duty in the South Pacific before the 1943 commencement, according to a statement from the school.

Deuel told The Associated Press that he was an enlisted reservist with the Army's 43rd Infantry, which was based in Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont, and was called to duty in April 1943. His class graduated the following month.

While Wentworth later transferred his college credits to the University of Iowa, he never got his junior college diploma, Deuel said.

"I was surprised that the school is making such a big deal of it," Deuel said of next month's ceremony. "I thought they'd just mail me a certificate."

Col. William Sellers, president of the private military high school and two-year college, said the ceremony shows an appreciation for Deuel's service.

"Missing a graduation ceremony was the least of Mr. Deuel's sacrifices in the service of his country," Sellers said. "However, presenting him the diploma he earned so many years ago is one small way that we can show our thanks to him and those of the greatest generation who fought for our freedom."

Deuel earned several awards during his four-year stint in the military, including a Bronze Star and a presidential citation medal.