A Rhode Island man who left high school nearly 80 years ago to serve in World War II has finally received his diploma thanks to loved ones who believed in him.

Arthur Masterson, 96, joined the U.S. Navy in April of 1945, during his senior year in the East Greenwich Public Schools system, said his daughter, Elaine Vespia.

He served in the Navy for 11 months and after that, he was drafted into the U.S. Army for the Korean War.

He never returned to school but once his time in the military came to an end, he worked as a milkman and later for the United States Postal Service, where he retired, his daughter told USA TODAY on Friday.

Vespia said their family was spending time together around Thanksgiving when her son-in-law, a history buff, found old paperwork that said Masterson had left school to join the military.

“I knew he never graduated,” Vespia said. “I just didn't know why he didn't graduate. It was never anything he talked about.”

She suspects a high school education wasn’t as important back then as it is now, she said. After learning why he never graduated, her son-in-law had an idea: Reach out to the school division and get him an honorary diploma.

Vespia, who works for the town of East Greenwich where her father grew up and went to school, emailed Superintendent Brian Ricca, who responded almost immediately.

Ricca is used to fielding requests but often has to turn them down. When he heard about Masterson leaving school for WWII, he knew he had to say 'yes'.

“This was an opportunity for me to be able to say yes, and to be able to say yes with a smile,” said Ricca, who has multiple family members who have served in the military. 

Ricca talked to the high school principal and guidance program director, who agreed with his decision. They looked for documentation and came across Masterson’s student records.

School division still had student records from the 1940s

About a week before Christmas, Ricca let Vespia know he had the diploma. They were willing to host a ceremony for him and everything but Masterson isn’t one to like the spotlight, his daughter said. Instead, the family surprised him with his diploma on Christmas Day.

"I graduated!" Masterson exclaimed in a video the family recorded on Christma Day. "After all these years." 

Family members tried to get the 96-year-old to flip his tassel as new graduates do, but he was too busy admiring his diploma. 

“Oh Boy,” he said after his family told him he’s officially a graduate of East Greenwich High School.

Ricca isn’t sure how many classes Masterson had left until graduation in 1945, but said his time in the military speaks for itself.

“If you've completed three out of four years of your high school education and you leave because you are choosing to serve in the armed forces, that life experience, that selflessness, that commitment to our country, certainly is equivalent to whatever Mr. Masterson was short,” he said.

WWII veteran doesn’t give himself enough credit, family says

Vespia, Masterson’s daughter, said her father’s military service was stateside, meaning he never went overseas. 

He doesn’t talk about his service much but has shared with his family that he thinks service members who have been overseas deserve more credit.

“We tell him all the time, 'You served just like the rest of them,'” Vespia told USA TODAY.

Her father was also honored by the American Legion for his 70-year membership, Vespia said. He received a certificate just after his 96th birthday.

Throughout the years he has marched in parades with the American Legion and even served as Parade Marshall. 

But despite all that he has done, her father has always been humble and quiet. When she was growing up, her mother worked night shifts at the hospital, so her dad was quite the family man.

“My dad used to make us meals all the time because he was there at night while she was working,” she said. 

Masterson’s granddaughter is in the military and when it was time for her promotion ceremony to staff sergeant, she wanted her grandfather to pin her.

“After he pinned her, he stepped back and saluted,” Vespia said.

Vespia thinks the high school diploma was a nice surprise for her father, especially since he received it while surrounded by everyone he loves.

“I think it meant more to him than he will ever really say,” she said.