thedrifter
12-28-06, 06:41 PM
A long time coming
Yoncalla veteran David Wilder receives honorary high school diploma
TERESA WILLIAMS, twilliams@newsreview.info
December 28, 2006
YONCALLA — When David Wilder first received his high school diploma at 56 years old, he thought, “It’s the real thing.”
“They haven’t changed a bit,” he said. “Looks just like my wife’s.”
His wife, Patti, was his high school sweetheart when he joined the Marine Corps in 1966. He was 17 and a year away from what should have been his graduation from Yoncalla High School.
“I quit high school and joined,” Wilder said.
Wilder and Patti married after boot camp. He served on guard duty in Cuba in 1967, and then volunteered to go to Vietnam.
“I’d do it again,” he said. “I’m a patriot. I believe in what we do. Somebody’s got to do it. It’s always the young people.”
The military was a logical choice for Wilder. He came from a military family. His father was a World War II veteran and he has an uncle who served in Korea.
Wilder’s brother also went into the service, and they had to sign waivers so they could serve at the same time.
Wilder got his GED while he was in the Marines, and he went to Umpqua Community College when he returned. He earned two associate’s degrees, one in architectural design and one in civil engineering.
By then he had a family of five, so he decided not to pursue a bachelor’s. In 1975, he started working for Douglas County Special Studies on the Glide sewer treatment plant, among other projects. The following year he went to work for the city of Roseburg as a building inspector.
“I decided that the only way I could really do myself justice was to start my own business,” he said.
So Wilder founded 3D Design in 1976. In the early days, he did design, drafting and duplicating. Now he is a general contractor.
About a year and a half ago, Wilder read a story in the Veterans Affairs newsletter about local school districts honoring Vietnam veterans with honorary high school diplomas.
He talked with Mary Newman at the local county Veterans Service office.
“She said, ‘You deserve that, Dave. We need to get that for you,’” he said.
Newman wrote a letter to the Yoncalla School District in June, and Principal Brian Berry was happy to help.
“I knew we could do an honorary diploma,” Berry said.
He decided to present Wilder with the diploma at the school’s Veterans Day assembly.
All the students in the Yoncalla School District gave him a standing ovation and shook his hand.
“It was difficult to keep my composure,” Wilder said.
Wilder said getting the honorary diploma was “just something that should’ve been done a long time ago.
“It was a way of being thanked by the community, and we didn’t get that,” he said. “I did it for the United States and for the people that lived here.”
The desire to serve the country has passed on to the younger generations. Wilder’s son, David, joined the Air Force during peace time; another son, Tony, was in the Marines during Desert Storm; and his grandson, Justin, is in the Air Force and has been in Iraq.
Today, Wilder’s diploma sits on his desk. He’s looking for a picture of himself in his dress greens military uniform. It will hang on the wall of Yoncalla High School with the rest of the class of 1967.
• You can reach reporter Teresa Williams at 957-4230 or via e-mail at twilliams@newsreview.info.
So you know ...
The state of Oregon awards regular high school diplomas for veterans of World War I, World War II and the Korean War if they left high school to join the armed services.
Vietnam veterans are eligible for honorary high school diplomas if they left high school to serve and meet certain requirements.
Information: Department of Veterans Affairs Roseburg office, 440-4219; Douglas County Courthouse, Room 105-B, 1036 S.E. Douglas Ave.
Ellie
Yoncalla veteran David Wilder receives honorary high school diploma
TERESA WILLIAMS, twilliams@newsreview.info
December 28, 2006
YONCALLA — When David Wilder first received his high school diploma at 56 years old, he thought, “It’s the real thing.”
“They haven’t changed a bit,” he said. “Looks just like my wife’s.”
His wife, Patti, was his high school sweetheart when he joined the Marine Corps in 1966. He was 17 and a year away from what should have been his graduation from Yoncalla High School.
“I quit high school and joined,” Wilder said.
Wilder and Patti married after boot camp. He served on guard duty in Cuba in 1967, and then volunteered to go to Vietnam.
“I’d do it again,” he said. “I’m a patriot. I believe in what we do. Somebody’s got to do it. It’s always the young people.”
The military was a logical choice for Wilder. He came from a military family. His father was a World War II veteran and he has an uncle who served in Korea.
Wilder’s brother also went into the service, and they had to sign waivers so they could serve at the same time.
Wilder got his GED while he was in the Marines, and he went to Umpqua Community College when he returned. He earned two associate’s degrees, one in architectural design and one in civil engineering.
By then he had a family of five, so he decided not to pursue a bachelor’s. In 1975, he started working for Douglas County Special Studies on the Glide sewer treatment plant, among other projects. The following year he went to work for the city of Roseburg as a building inspector.
“I decided that the only way I could really do myself justice was to start my own business,” he said.
So Wilder founded 3D Design in 1976. In the early days, he did design, drafting and duplicating. Now he is a general contractor.
About a year and a half ago, Wilder read a story in the Veterans Affairs newsletter about local school districts honoring Vietnam veterans with honorary high school diplomas.
He talked with Mary Newman at the local county Veterans Service office.
“She said, ‘You deserve that, Dave. We need to get that for you,’” he said.
Newman wrote a letter to the Yoncalla School District in June, and Principal Brian Berry was happy to help.
“I knew we could do an honorary diploma,” Berry said.
He decided to present Wilder with the diploma at the school’s Veterans Day assembly.
All the students in the Yoncalla School District gave him a standing ovation and shook his hand.
“It was difficult to keep my composure,” Wilder said.
Wilder said getting the honorary diploma was “just something that should’ve been done a long time ago.
“It was a way of being thanked by the community, and we didn’t get that,” he said. “I did it for the United States and for the people that lived here.”
The desire to serve the country has passed on to the younger generations. Wilder’s son, David, joined the Air Force during peace time; another son, Tony, was in the Marines during Desert Storm; and his grandson, Justin, is in the Air Force and has been in Iraq.
Today, Wilder’s diploma sits on his desk. He’s looking for a picture of himself in his dress greens military uniform. It will hang on the wall of Yoncalla High School with the rest of the class of 1967.
• You can reach reporter Teresa Williams at 957-4230 or via e-mail at twilliams@newsreview.info.
So you know ...
The state of Oregon awards regular high school diplomas for veterans of World War I, World War II and the Korean War if they left high school to join the armed services.
Vietnam veterans are eligible for honorary high school diplomas if they left high school to serve and meet certain requirements.
Information: Department of Veterans Affairs Roseburg office, 440-4219; Douglas County Courthouse, Room 105-B, 1036 S.E. Douglas Ave.
Ellie