Poolesville, Maryland – At a ceremony in Poolesville, Maryland, earlier this month, American Legion Post 247 paid a special tribute to one of its own members, the late Gunnery Sgt. Richard Remp.
“He was a Marine,” said friend Julien Singh. “He was most proud of being a Marine.”
Remp, who everyone called Gunny, dropped out of high school his senior year to serve in World War II, and remained in the Marines during the Vietnam War. Friends Julien Singh and James Cappuccilli say he was highly decorated.
Despite all his extraordinary achievements, Remp still had one thing left to do: graduate from high school.
“That was his kind of parting wish,” Singh said.
Fortunately, Pennsylvania law allows any honorably discharged veteran of World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War to receive an honorary high school diploma. Unfortunately, it takes time, and Remp only had a few days left to live.
Nevertheless, out of desperation, his friends contacted school officials in his hometown of Sharon, Pennsylvania.
Justi Glaros, superintendent of the Sharon City School District, took the call.
“I have a lot of passion for the men and women who serve our country, and everything in me said, ‘Yes, go, do it,’” Glaros told CBS News.
She expedited the request and then went the extra mile, or rather the extra 500 miles, driving nearly five hours each way to personally deliver his diploma to Remp at his home.
“It was overwhelming,” Glaros said. “And I knew he had been weak, but at that moment he wasn’t. He was all in.”
Remp died on May 19 at the age of 98, just two days after receiving his degree.
“The last thing he really remembered was getting that high school diploma from Justi,” Singh said.
