At 84, US man gets high school diploma

There’s at least one guy with a new high school diploma who’s not worrying about getting into college or finding a job.

After all, Takeshi Murata is 84.

He left University High School in Greeley, Colorado, in 1944 when he was drafted to fight in World War II, according to the Greeley Daily Tribune newspaper. The son of Japanese immigrants, Murata was trained as an interpreter in case of an invasion.

Murata says he barely spoke Japanese but was sent to Tokyo after the war ended. He married in Japan and returned to northeast Colorado in 1947, where he farmed and raised five children.

The high school finally granted Murata’s diploma Wednesday after a teacher heard his story and found his old report cards.

- The Associated Press