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WWII Veteran to receive high school diploma
Ronald Costi was “too busy” back in 1943 when he was supposed to pick up his high school diploma.
He was a US Navy seaman aboard the USS Denver, a light cruiser that steamed into the thick of the fighting during World War II in places like Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Borneo, Corregador, and the Philippines.
Costi, who turns 85 in December, is finally getting back to picking up that important piece of paper. He and other veterans of WWII, Korea and Vietnam will be given high school diplomas on November 12 by Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Kenneth M. Young through a program called Operation Recognition.
This year’s Operation Recognition ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. on November 12 at the Palm Desert Campus of California State University, Indian Wells Theater, 37-500 Cook Street, Palm Desert.
Nearly 200 veterans have received high school diplomas through the Operation Recognition Program since 2007. The diplomas are awarded as a joint effort of the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools and the Riverside County Department of Veteran’s Services
The program is open to residents of Riverside County whose high school education was interrupted by military service in World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War. Education Code Section 51440 authorizes the granting of retroactive high school diplomas to eligible veterans. Section 51430 authorizes the retroactive granting of diplomas to Japanese-American citizens whose internment by federal order in World War II prevented them from graduating from their home town high school.
Costi was born in Long Beach and grew up in the San Gabriel Valley. He joined the Navy, did basic training in Idaho -- “They didn’t send us to San Diego. They thought we’d all go over the hill that close to home.” -- and soon found himself in the middle of every hot spot of the war. “We fired the first shot in the bombardment when we retook the Philippines. I watched MacArthur walk ashore through the binoculars,” he said.
He returned from the war and spent 30 years in the uniform and linen business and some time as a building contractor. He and his wife, Marilyn, have been married 39 years, and live in Palm Springs. They have three daughters and a son.
Two of Costi’s daughters found out about Operation Recognition. He acknowledges that they kind of pushed him into applying. They will attend the ceremony with hundreds of other family members and friends watching veterans get the diplomas they so well deserve.
What does it mean to Costi? “Well, I don’t need it for business,” he said, laughing. “I guess it means that I have learned enough for a high school diploma.
In order to be recognized at ceremony, completed application forms and supporting documentation must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 1, 2010. Application forms are available online at www.rcoe.us/operationrecognition or can be requested by telephone. Interested persons may contact Tracey Rivas at (951) 826-6570 or email her at trivas@rcoe.us.
For information contact:
Rick Peoples
Telephone: (951) 826-6642
Fax: (951) 826-6199
rpeoples@rcoe.us
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