Retired Army veteran awarded an honorary diploma

It was 53 years later than he had first expected, but today, disabled veteran Virgil Swanson became an official Hutchinson High School alumnus.

Swanson was a junior when he joined the Army, before he could graduate with the class of 1956. He served in both Korea and Vietnam.

Swanson received his GED certificate while in the service. His friend Dee Weisel accepted an honorary high school diploma on his behalf during the school’s Veterans Day ceremony.

Principal Ron Johnson grew visibly emotional as he described the day last summer when Swanson met with him about receiving a diploma. “He was old school, so he knew to call me ‘Mr. Johnson,’ rather than ‘Ron.’”

According to Weisel, Swanson was injured when he fell from a prison tower, while serving as a security guard. He reached the rank of sergeant (E-5) by the time he left the service. Swanson has gone south for the winter, staying in Mission, Texas, but Weisel said, “I am very honored to be accepting his diploma today.”

The award was presented by senior Connor Ulrich and Mingwi Park, a foreign exchange student from South Korea.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)