Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
Gerald Dohn left high school in Redlands, Calif., after his junior year and never got a chance to go back.
Dohn, 74, of Sweet Home, will receive a high school diploma Friday night, thanks to a state law that requires school districts to issue a high school diploma upon request of a veterans of recent wars who meet the criteria for receiving that diploma.
Eligible veterans are those who attended a high school before serving in the armed forces and did not graduate because they were serving in the military during World War I or any war following. They must have been discharged or released under honorable conditions.
Dohn ended up serving in the Marines in Japan during the Korean War.
He, along with former Sweet Home High School student Daniel J. Baker, and Carl O. Lovely of Lebanon, are receiving diplomas in accordance with Senate Bill 374, passed in the Oregon Legislature three years ago, though Sweet Home High School Principal Pat Stineff said Dohn is the only one she expects to be there. Baker, she said, has a work conflict and Lovely is in poor health.
“This is the first time we’ve ever done this,” Stineff said. “I didn’t realize we could do this
Lovely served in the U.S. Navy from July of 1943 to May of 1946, when he was discharged as a Seaman 1st Class. He then served in the Oregon National Guard from 1949 to 1954, rising to the rank of Sergeant E5.
Baker was a sergeant in the Oregon National Guard from November 1985 to April 2006.
Dohn was a member of the Marine Corps from March of 1952 to March of 1954, rising to the rank of corporal.
He said that when he got out of the service, he worked for a variety of aerospace firms in Southern California before moving to Sweet Home in 1975.
He found out about his diploma eligibility at Linn-Benton Community College.
“I went over to talk to the principal (Stineff) and gave her my discharge papers and information,” he said. “A couple of weeks ago she called me and told me that I’d get the diploma through Sweet Home.”
Dohn said his youngest daughter, Debra, graduated from Sweet Home High School some 25 years ago and his youngest grandson, Cody Paauwe, is currently a junior at the high school. He said his wife, Ruth, earned her GED after they moved to Oregon.
Dohn said he isn’t sure whether he will wear a cap and gown for his big night.
“I’ll have to talk to the principal a half hour before the ceremony starts,” he said. “She’ll let me know what’s going on.
“I think it’s quite an honor, really.”