Dying Marine vet, 98, finally gets high school diploma while receiving hospice care after dropping out of school to fight in World War Two

A dying Marine veteran was finally presented with his high school diploma while receiving hospice care after retiring from fighting in World War II more than eighty years ago.

Richard Remp, a 98-year-old Navy veteran in hospice care, left school at age 17 to serve in World War II before later continuing his service in Korea and Vietnam.

But on Friday, he finally got the high school diploma he had longed for all these years but never got.

Remp told the local NBC affiliate in San Antonio NEWS4SA: ‘On behalf of myself and the Marine Corps, I thank you very much for what you have done for me. I will never forget this. How can I do that with all you good people around me? I’m very happy’.

Affectionately known as “Gunny” for his role as an artillery sergeant in Vietnam, Remp found himself in hospice care at home after doctors diagnosed him with stage four cancer following a recent fall.

Determined to fulfill Remp’s lifelong wish, his family and friends at the nearby American Legion Post 247 devised a plan to secure his high school diploma.

They reached Remp’s original school district in Sharon, Pennsylvania, just over an hour north of Pittsburgh, but the school couldn’t complete the job in time.

But after hearing his story, Superintendent Justi Glaros of a neighboring district arranged for the diploma to be printed.

She made a 4.5-hour journey to personally deliver the diploma to Remp’s bedside.