91-year-old WWII vet graduates high school

SHERMAN, Texas (KXII/CNN) – High school graduation is a day students dream of as they grow up. But one graduate has been waiting longer than most. In fact, he’s been dreaming about this day for the past 73 years.

Staff Sergeant Talma Sadler felt called to join the military, but he was only 16. “And so I told them I was 18 and then they drafted me,” Sadler explained.

He served in the Pacific and was there when Japan surrendered in 1945. He said, “Wartime, it’s just like Uncle Sam says ‘I want you.'”

Getting his diploma was always a dream. But now, thanks to the state’s Veterans High School Diploma Program, Sadler’s dream came true.

The program allows anyone who left high school prior to graduation to serve in World War II, the Korean War or the Vietnam War, to get their diploma.

It was a special moment for all the graduates walking beside him, especially Cade Ogden, who said, “For him to go lie about his age like that, just to go serve his country, that’s crazy right there.”

Ogden is heading to the Naval Academy in a few weeks. He said, “It’s great what he did and I want to go serve my country.”

As far as Sadler’s plans now that he has his diploma: “If you want to go on to college, you got to have a diploma,” he said. “Probably will.”

But more than anything, he’s an inspiration for his fellow graduates. Sadler commented, “It’s a big world out there, get your share.”

Sadler’s school, Mangum High, sent his diploma so he could get it at the graduation ceremony. It is dated May 17th, 1945.

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