A Serious Thing Happened on the Way to Graduation … a War
By Susan Motander
Julius Parker was a senior at Monrovia Arcadia Duarte (MAD) High School, when the United States entered World War II. Rather than complete high school, he enlisted in the army, like many other patriotic young men at the time.
He chose to sacrifice all those joys of a glorious senior year – dances, dates, and most of all graduation – to serve his country.
On June 7, 2016, the Monrovia Unified School District’s Board of Education awarded the lifelong Monrovia resident his diploma.
The 91-year-old Parker declined an invitation to join in the commencement exercises later that evening, noting that he does not get out that much, so the school board came to him.
In a brief ceremony at his home, he was presented with his diploma by Board President Rob Hammond.
Also in attendance were: Vice President Bryan Wong; Terrence Williams, clerk; Ed Gilliland, board member; Superintendent Dr. Kathy Thorossian; and Monrovia High School Principal Kirk McGinnis.
Later, Monrovia City Council Member Larry Spicer, who also represented the council at the high school graduation, said that the presentation of the diploma “was a long time coming.” He continued, “Mr. Fisher has always been a pillar of this community and a mentor to its youth.”
California State Law allows a unified school district to retroactively grant a high school diploma to a person who has not received a high school diploma if, among other conditions, he/she entered the military service of the United States while a pupil in grade 12 of a high school and, if at the time of his or her entrance into military service, he/she had satisfactorily completed the first half of the work
