95-year-old WWII veteran Bill Chase receives diploma from Brighton High School
BOSTON - A 95-year-old World War II veteran gets his wish. He is the latest graduate of Brighton High School.
Bill Chase left school early to join the merchant Marines. When he was old enough, he joined the Navy. Chase saw action during World War II, and his time overseas left him disabled. When he came home, he had six children, but he never finished school.
"Although he was very successful in the construction business, one of his regrets was that he wasn't able to complete his formal education," said Chase's son Bill Chase Jr.
Chase is currently being treated at the VA Hospital in West Roxbury. His family reached out to the school district and told them his wish was to finally become a graduate. This week he received a diploma at his bedside.
To make this happen, school administrators worked with Boston City Council President Ed Flynn and Veteran's Affairs Commissioner Robert Santiago. Chase will soon be included on a wall of names in the school that highlights World War II veterans who graduated from Brighton High.
"We have a space for it. There is a space under the C," said Andrew Bott, Principal of Brighton High School. "No final exam. To leave school early and serve in WWII, it's a remarkable life. To live to the age he has, that's all the exam you need."
"So, the ironic thing is my high school reunion, my 50th high school reunion, is coming up this year," said Bill Chase Jr. "It's his first."