World War II Veteran to Receive High School Diploma After 77 Years

95-year-old veteran thrilled to receive diploma through Operation Recognition program after keeping secret from family.

RIVERSIDE - The interruption of formal education is something current students are unfortunately far too familiar with during these times of COVID. For Garnett Warren Palmer, that interruption came in 1944 in the form of World War II. 

Now, 77 years later, and thanks to the Riverside County Office of Education’s Operation Recognition Program,  Mr. Palmer will finally receive his high school diploma, at the age of 95, and accomplish a milestone that he has felt ashamed of missing throughout his life.

The Operation Recognition Program awards diplomas as a joint effort of the Riverside County Board of Education, the Riverside County Office of Education, and the Riverside County Department of Veterans’ Services. Since its inception in 2007, 373 diplomas have been presented to residents of Riverside County who missed completing high school due to military service in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or due to internment in WWII Japanese-American relocation camps.

Garnett Warren Palmer was born in 1926 in Bristol, Colorado. Not long after, his family moved to Riverside, California, where his father worked for the Santa Fe Railroad and was also the pastor of the United Methodist Church at 5th and Mulberry.  

“My first experiences in school were at a small schoolhouse in west Riverside near a creek and a beer joint, which my father was never really happy about,” Palmer said. “I attended middle school at University Heights Middle, and my high school years were spent at Poly.”  

While in school, Mr. Palmer also landed a job with the Santa Fe Railroad loading mailbags destined for the troops, thanks to his father. 

“I was only 17 years of age, but the manager, Mr. Russell, was so desperate for workers that he hired me.” Mr. Palmer’s high school and railroad career were brought to a sudden halt when he was drafted into the U.S. Navy in April of 1944. 

After basic training in San Diego, the Navy sent Mr. Palmer to Texas A&M University to train with others to be a radioman.  

“I always kept it a secret that I didn’t finish school,” Mr. Palmer admitted. “Some of the others I was training with were doing calculus and seemed so smart. I never wanted to admit to any of them that I had not graduated.”  

This, however, didn’t stop Mr. Palmer from successfully finishing his training and spending the bulk of his military service in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. He was responsible for receiving and transmitting radio messages using Morse code.  

“Sometimes we would even receive current events from a radio station in Seattle and I would transcribe it for my fellow soldiers. It was the only form of communication we had with the mainland.” 

Garnett was honorably discharged in 1946 and returned to work for the Santa Fe Railroad. “Back then, the railroad was required to offer you your old job back, so I continued my work with them.” He would spend his career working his way up the corporate ladder and retiring from Santa Fe Railroad after 40 years.  

Mr. Palmer and his wife of 56 years have two children, 4 grandkids, and a great-grandchild. Both of his children, and many of his grandkids, are college graduates, and, until applying for Operation Recognition, had no idea he had not received his high school diploma.  

“My son, who is 67, an engineer, and graduate of Oregon State University, was shocked to find out I never received my high school diploma when I called to tell him that the Riverside County Office of Education would be giving me one.”  

Even his wife, Janis Palmer, was surprised that he had missed graduating from high school.

“I didn’t find out until 1994 when we came to Riverside to celebrate his 50th high school reunion,” Mrs. Palmer said. “He told me on the drive there just to warn me in case it came up.”

Mr. Palmer is thrilled about getting his diploma and just hopes that more veterans will come forward and apply for Operation Recognition. 

“I always felt substandard and lacking something. You feel like you are missing something.  You don’t feel like your life is complete.” 

Given the opportunity to advise today’s students who are struggling with finishing school in the current environment, Mr. Palmer would share his lifelong regret, “If you don’t finish school, you are always going to feel like something is missing.”

When asked what he would do with his new diploma, Mr. Palmer stated “I’m going to frame it and proudly hang it on the wall for everyone to see.”  

In order to be eligible for a diploma, individuals must currently reside in Riverside County. Completed application forms and supporting documentation must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., on Friday, October 15, 2021.

Application, forms, photos, and videos from previous ceremonies are available on the Operation Recognition web page. There is no charge to apply for a diploma. Applications can also be requested by telephone. Interested persons may email Deborah Sofia or call her at (951) 826-6376.

This year’s Operation Recognition ceremony took place at the meeting of the Riverside County Board of Education on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, at 5:00 p.m.