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BRIGHTON — Rueben Ayala learned not to talk too much about the things he saw while fighting in Europe during World War II.
“I just . . . I just went through a lot,” the 85-year-old said.
But even his daughter was a little bit surprised to learn only recently that her dad had never earned his high school diploma. Ayala was drafted in 1944, right after his junior year. He was 18.
Sixty-six years later, Ayala finally earned that high school diploma.
“I’m just so honored, so very honored to be here today,” he said as joined Brighton High School’s class of 2010 at Saturday’s ceremonies.
His diploma was made possible through the nonprofit “Operation Recognition — Veterans Diploma Project.” 9News
