ASHDOWN, Ark. - Three area veterans received honorary high school diplomas Monday - decades after they were called to serve in the U.S. military. The Ashdown School District recognized Bily Wayne Adkison, William Booth Jr., and James Bradshaw with a special ceremony during an Ashdown Board meeting on Veterans Day.
Adkison and Bradshaw served during the Korean War. Booth is a Vietnam veteran. The three men received the long-awaited diplomas thanks to a new Arkansas Department of Education Code.
The Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing Diplomas for Veterans allows military personnel who were called to serve in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War before they were able to graduate to receive honorary high school diplomas.
Adkison and Booth served in the Army and Bradshaw was in the Air Force.
Veterans qualify if they were honorably discharged from the armed forces, reside in Arkansas and either served a minimum of 18 consecutive months of active duty or were discharged with a service-connected disability.
Superintendent Casey Nichols presented the diplomas to the veterans as their family members watched.
"We are so blessed to be able to present these amazing veterans their well-deserved Ashdown High School diplomas," Nichols said. "They left their families to serve our great country, we are so thankful for their service and we are so honored to be able to have them receive their diplomas. This was a very moving ceremony and meant so much to our veterans and their families"
The Arkansas Department of Education suggests that veterans reach out to the superintendent of the school district they were attending for help receiving a high school diploma, or call 501-682-4475.
-Jason Hopkins