West Valley City » With the popularity of college, a high school diploma doesn't have the currency it used to.
Not in the job market and not for some of the teens who sweated in cap and gown through Brighton High School's commencement Thursday at the E-Center.
But for one graduate, World War II veteran Henry "Pete" Newman, the ceremony meant recapturing a rite of passage reached 63 years ago. Though "not one to show emotion," the former Navy medic was moved to tears, "honored" to finally receive his diploma and share the stage with his grandson, senior John Slack.
"When you've waited this long for something it means a lot," said Newman, whose own commencement was sidelined by war. "This is one of the big moments of a lifetime. The other was marrying my wife."
Newman, who turns 82 next week, has watched many of his 24 grandchildren cross the stage with melancholy pride.
"Every time, he'd turn to me and say, 'That's one thing I regret, not getting my diploma,'" said his wife, Caroline.
Under Utah law, high schools can award honorary diplomas to war vets who left classrooms for combat -- the idea being that years of service and "education in the field" warrant recognition.
Newman's diploma, though, is the real deal, dated June 14, 1946 from Central Senior High School in St. Paul, Minn.
It took years of lobbying school officials, said Caroline. "We just kept getting lower level people."
Inducted into the U.S. Navy his senior year, Newman finished his high school studies while in training.
"The war was still cranking in the Pacific," said Newman, who recalls being pulled from class on September 19, 1944 and told to go home, pack and head to the train station.
He was unable to properly say goodbye to his family; there was no one at the station to see him off. He was 17, old enough for recruiters who had turned him down a year earlier.
Like so many youth in his day, Newman went willingly, even enthusiastically to war.
He reported to Great Lakes Naval Station where he entered basic training then shipped to San Diego, Calif., for training as a "pharmacist's mate," or medic.
He never saw combat, but served on several ships, including the now-decommissioned USS Prairie and the USS Turner, which evacuated English and German women and children from post-war China.
In later years, Newman built a successful career in photography.
War and the "devastating poverty and hunger" he witnessed is something his hopes his grandson never experiences, though John's life hasn't been without trial.
The Sandy teen has a mild form of autism, but has excelled at school, taking college-level classes in graphic arts, a course of study he plans to continue this fall.
"I want to work for Pixar," he says.
His mother, Julie Slack, credits hard work and the "special bond" John has with "Poppa."
"Grandpa always read to him, told him war stories, just took him under his wing and protected him," said Slack. "They're kindred souls. It's fitting that they walk together."
Newman worried about stealing the limelight from John.
"Everyone, my mom and grandma, kept asking me if it was OK, which was kind of annoying," said John.
The duo's trip to the podium brought solemnity to an event punctuated by cat calls and bouncing beach balls.
"How many people get to graduate with their grandpa?" said John. "It wouldn't mean as much without him."
