Wednesday, May 25, 2016
By SARAH Lehr
STRUTHERS
Robert Wallace, an Army veteran and Struthers resident, missed out on much of his high-school experience.
He never went to prom or homecoming, and he never wore a graduation cap and gown.
That’s why he’s excited to walk across the stage Sunday to receive an honorary diploma from Struthers High School.
“I told them I had to walk,” Wallace, 60, said. “I’ve been waiting on this for years. I still have trouble believing it’s happening. I’m going to be a nervous wreck.”
Struthers City Schools, in partnership with the Struthers Fallen Soldiers Project, awards honorary diplomas to veterans who did not have the chance to complete high school due to their service.
An Ohio law passed in 2003 allows school districts to award diplomas to veterans who left school to join the armed forces during World War II, the Korean War or the Vietnam War.
To qualify, a veteran must be an Ohio resident or previously have been enrolled at an Ohio high school. The individual must provide documentation of honorable discharge.
The legislation also allows women to receive diplomas if they left high school during World War II, the Vietnam War or the Korean War to provide for their families or assist with the war effort.
Wallace enlisted at 18, having completed roughly a sophomore level of education, he said.
“I was heading down the wrong track,” Wallace said. “The Army straightened me out.”
Born in Struthers, Wallace went to Austintown Fitch High School.
Though he did not serve in Vietnam, he was stationed in Germany during the Vietnam War.
In total, Wallace served two years on active duty and five years in the Army Reserve.
Wallace said he doesn’t regret enlisting, but he wishes he had completed high school. After reading a 2015 Vindicator story about veterans receiving honorary diplomas, Wallace decided to apply.
Wallace said after he sent in his papers, he was so eager to receive the diploma that he went to the board of education almost every day to ask about his application.
“I’m so thankful to Struthers for doing this,” Wallace said. “More schools should do it.”
Though Wallace will be the only living veteran to accept a diploma at the upcoming ceremony, the district also will present a posthumous honorary degree.
Mary Carcelli will accept a diploma on behalf of her late father, Robert Shuttleworth.
Carcelli’s husband, school board member Ron Carcelli, will present the diploma. When Ron Carcelli told his wife her father would receive a degree, she started to cry.
Mary Carcelli, head cook at the high school, will retire this year after 30 years of service. She thinks it’s fitting that the year of her retirement coincides with the year her father will get his diploma.
Shuttleworth served as a medic during World War II. He received an Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon, a Good Conduct Medal and a Victory Medal of World War II, according to military documents.
He lived most of his life in Struthers and died in 2003 at age 79. Carcelli said although her father endured several strokes and suffered from dementia, he still enjoyed reminiscing with his Army buddies when he was able.
If he were alive today, her father would be ecstatic to receive a degree, Mary Carcelli said.
“I know how my dad felt about a diploma,” she said. “He always told his grandkids to get through high school and get through college.”