DEERING--As the cliche goes, &uot;Good things come to those who wait.&uot;

That is certainly true for three local veterans who graduated from Dawson-Bryant High School 59 years after their graduating class.

Arthur Dillon, Kenneth A. Sites Jr. and Wendall R. Harmon were drafted or joined the military in 1943 during World War II before they could graduate.

They were included as a part of the 2002 class.

&uot;I’m a Baptist minister and I’ve had many thrills. I would put this toward the top,&uot; Dillon said. &uot;I was really honored that the graduating class took three old men in and treated us as their own.&uot;

Walking across the stage was a very special moment, Dillon said.

&uot;When they played 'God Bless America,' I shed a few tears. It was a heart-throbbing experience,&uot; he said

These sentiments were echoed by Sites Jr., who said that the whole ceremony was great.

&uot;It was real nice. People stood up and cheered,&uot; he said. &uot;I appreciate every bit of it and want to thank everyone who had anything to do with it.

&uot;It felt real nice to see my family.&uot; &uot;The tears started coming down.&uot;

In all, 12 veterans graduated at schools in Lawrence County this year. This was made possible by a bill passed by Gov. Bob Taft in July 2001.

To be eligible, veterans must have left high school to serve in the armed forces, been honorably discharged from the service and never been granted a diploma. It also permits diplomas to be awarded posthumously to a living relative of a deceased veteran.

"When duty called, these proud Ohioans put aside their educational aspirations and put their lives on the line so that future generations would have the chance to live in peace and freedom," Taft said in a press release when the bill was passed. "We can't turn back the clock and give them back their high school years, but we can honor them with the high school diploma they deserve."

Sites said he was glad to serve his country, but being in the jungles of New Guinea was a difficult situation.

&uot;The experience was worth a million dollars,&uot; he said. &uot;But I wouldn’t want to do it again.&uot; Michael Caldwell/The Ironton Tribune