thedrifter
06-05-09, 08:24 AM
Veterans to finally receive high school diplomas
Comments | Recommend
Some missed out when they joined military as teens
June 4, 2009 - 3:09 PM
By EUNICE LEE, staff writer
In the middle of 10th grade, Barstow resident John Quenga left high school and joined the Marines. Quenga, 17-years-old at the time and living on the island of Guam in Southeast Asia, was among a group of 12 people from the small village of Piti who enlisted with the United States Marine Corps together in the early 1950s.
Soon after training, he was sent off to fight in the Korean War from 1953 to 1954. A decade later, he was stationed for a year in the city of Dan Nang during the Vietnam War. Four years after that, he returned for his second tour of duty.
Quenga attended night classes and earned his general equivalency diploma while in the military, but he never got to walk across a stage and receive a diploma — until now.
Quenga, now 73-years-old, will be one of 110 veterans in the county who missed their high school graduations due to military service who will be recognized in an honorary ceremony by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Friday night in Rancho Cucamonga.
This is the first time the county is granting retroactive high school diplomas to veterans, which is authorized by the California Education Code, according to Spokesman Dan Evans.
At the time, Quenga and his peers jumped at the opportunity to join the military and travel overseas.
“I was excited to go,” said Quenga.
One of his favorite classes in high school was woodworking. Quenga recalls enjoying working with his hands and never wanting to be stuck behind a desk. That carried over into his 20 years in the Marines, where he mechanically serviced everything from tankers to amphibian tractors.
In 1973, Quenga retired from the Marine Corps, settled in Barstow with his family and worked as a pipe-fitter for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway for 10 years. But he didn’t stay away from the military too long — he went back and worked as a civilian worker at the Marine Corps Logistics Base for 19 years.
“I got attached to the military and that was my life,” said Quenga.
And Friday night, veterans like Quenga will be honored for their service.
Quenga said two of his sons will be coming to see their father finally graduate.
Vietnam War veterans Ricky Baker of Barstow and Steven Holt of Yermo will also be recognized in the ceremony, according to Evans.
Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4122 or elee@desertdispatch.com
Ellie
Comments | Recommend
Some missed out when they joined military as teens
June 4, 2009 - 3:09 PM
By EUNICE LEE, staff writer
In the middle of 10th grade, Barstow resident John Quenga left high school and joined the Marines. Quenga, 17-years-old at the time and living on the island of Guam in Southeast Asia, was among a group of 12 people from the small village of Piti who enlisted with the United States Marine Corps together in the early 1950s.
Soon after training, he was sent off to fight in the Korean War from 1953 to 1954. A decade later, he was stationed for a year in the city of Dan Nang during the Vietnam War. Four years after that, he returned for his second tour of duty.
Quenga attended night classes and earned his general equivalency diploma while in the military, but he never got to walk across a stage and receive a diploma — until now.
Quenga, now 73-years-old, will be one of 110 veterans in the county who missed their high school graduations due to military service who will be recognized in an honorary ceremony by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Friday night in Rancho Cucamonga.
This is the first time the county is granting retroactive high school diplomas to veterans, which is authorized by the California Education Code, according to Spokesman Dan Evans.
At the time, Quenga and his peers jumped at the opportunity to join the military and travel overseas.
“I was excited to go,” said Quenga.
One of his favorite classes in high school was woodworking. Quenga recalls enjoying working with his hands and never wanting to be stuck behind a desk. That carried over into his 20 years in the Marines, where he mechanically serviced everything from tankers to amphibian tractors.
In 1973, Quenga retired from the Marine Corps, settled in Barstow with his family and worked as a pipe-fitter for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway for 10 years. But he didn’t stay away from the military too long — he went back and worked as a civilian worker at the Marine Corps Logistics Base for 19 years.
“I got attached to the military and that was my life,” said Quenga.
And Friday night, veterans like Quenga will be honored for their service.
Quenga said two of his sons will be coming to see their father finally graduate.
Vietnam War veterans Ricky Baker of Barstow and Steven Holt of Yermo will also be recognized in the ceremony, according to Evans.
Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4122 or elee@desertdispatch.com
Ellie