Vietnam veteran to receive honorary high school diploma
Larence Curtis Johnson was a student at Sumner Hill High School in the 1960s, and a football player.
“Between helping on the farm and going to school, I knew I had to make a living for me and my mother,” he said. “I knew the farm wasn’t it. … My charge was to go into service to make things better for my family.”
In December 1967, at the age of 17, he dropped out of school to enlist in the Army and serve his country in Vietnam. He was part of the 1st and 58th Cavalry Division, earning a Purple Heart after being wounded in the Tet Offensive in 1968.
He returned home briefly, then served another tour of duty in Korea from 1971-74 before returning home for good.
When he returned home, he went to work, got married and started a family, and never finished his high school education. He served another 23 and a half years in the National Guard and Army Reserve.
When his daughter, Clinton High School graduate Sharon Johnson Quinn, heard that the Mississippi Department of Education now offers the opportunity for Vietnam veterans to receive an honorary high school diploma, she encouraged her father to apply.
“I never got to go back to school to graduate or finish my education,” he said. “My daughter really inspired me to apply.”
The program is available for veterans of the Vietnam War who were scheduled to graduate high school between 1963 and 1973. He submitted his application, MDE sent the form to CPSD for approval, and in March the Clinton School Board unanimously approved the request.
“We’re grateful for Mr. Johnson’s service,” said Dr. Tim Martin, Superintendent of Schools. “It’s an honor to present this diploma now and show our support for his selfless service to our nation.”
Johnson will receive his honorary diploma during the April school board meeting, planned for 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 10 at the Clinton Public School District Central Office board room.
“I’m glad I went and volunteered,” he said. “By me going, I saved someone else’s child from going through what I went through. I put myself in the way to do that.”
Photo:
Larence and Shirley Johnson hold a photo of their daughter Sharon Johnson Quinn. Mr. Johnson will receive an honorary high school diploma at the April 10 Clinton School Board meeting.
I AM SO PROUD OF MY DAD, MR. LARENCE C. JOHNSON FOR ALL OF HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND FOR ALL OF THE LOVE & GUIDANCE HE IS ALWAYS GIVING ME. I’VE ALWAYS BEEN A DADDY’S GIRL FROM THE START. I TELL EVERYONE THAT MY DAD WILL ALWAYS BE MY FIRST LOVE. FROM THE MOMENT I CRIED IN HIS ARMS AS A NEWBORN UNTIL THE DAY OUR HEAVENLY FATHER CALLS ME HOME, HE IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE. I CAN RECALL SEEING MY FATHER GO THROUGH THE BATTLE SCARS OF WAR (PTSD) & HEALTH CONDITIONS THAT HAVE CAUSED SO MANY CHANGES IN HIS LIFE. YET, THROUGH ALL THE YEARS HE HAS STILL BEEN MY ROCK AND ENCOURAGED ME TO PUSH THROUGH THE HARD TIMES. I HAVE OFTEN SAID, “I DON’T KNOW WHERE I WOULD BE WITHOUT MY DAD.” WHICH IS ALWAYS TRUE, HE’S GIVEN HIS LAST TO THOSE IN NEED, HE’S TAKEN A BACK SEAT WHEN HE SHOULD BE OUT FRONT, HE’S OPENED DOORS WHEN OTHERS HAVE SLAMMED & LOCKED IN FRONT OF HIM YET, HE PUSHED ON. AS A DAUGHTER, I OFTEN FEEL AS THOUGH NO ONE CAN OVERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP HE AND I HAVE WHICH IS SO VERY, VERY SPECIAL TO ME, NOT EVEN MY MOM (MRS. SHIRLEY JOHNSON) AT TIMES…LOL! WHEN I SAW THE PROCLAMATION ONLINE I COULDN’T WAIT TO LET HIM KNOW OF IT BECAUSE HE’S ALWAYS HAD THE DESIRE TO AT LEAST FINISH HIGH SCHOOL. WE TRIED FOR YEARS TO FIND WAYS FOR HIM TO DO THAT BUT THERE WASN’T ANYTHING ANYWHERE, BUT THEN THE LORD ALLOWED ME TO FIND THIS PROCLAMATION ABOUT OF MISSISSIPPI STATE VETERANS 7 THE VIETNAM ERA. I WAS ACTUALLY SEARCHING THROUGH THE LAWS AND BENEFITS FOR MISSISSIPPI’S VETERANS & PRESENT ENLISTED SOLDIERS. YOU BEING A DADDY’S GIRL I WANT TO DO EVERYTHING MY FATHER HAD DONE & COULD. HE WAS MILITARY SO I ENLISTED ALSO. HE FIXED CARS AT WILSON TIRE IN CLINTON SO I PICKED UP A FEW OF THOSE SKILLS TOO..LOL FOR A LITTLE COUNTRY GIRL I DO ALRIGHT UNDER THE HOOD OF A CAR…LOL. YET, INSTILL I WAS AN ONLY CHILD AND MY DAD ONLY HAD ME, SO THE LORD GAVE ME BOYS AND them TOO, GREW UP LOVING & RESPECTING THEIR GRANDFATHER & WANTING TO BE JUST LIKE HIM. MY OLDEST SON IS ALSO U.S. MILITARY “#GOARMY” AND MY YOUNGEST SO HAS DONE JROTC. I MARRIED MY HUSBAND WHO REMINDS ME A LOT OF MY FATHER, HE’S “#GOARMY” TOO. I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE WRITE UP UNTIL MY MOM CALLED ME ON SATURDAY AND ASK ME HAD I SEEN IT? I, OF COURSE, SAID NO, I WENT IN SEARCH OF IT WILL WE TALKED. MY PARENTS DON’T FACEBOOK OR INTERNET SURF BUT WHENEVER THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S OUT THERE THEY COME TO ME…LOL. I’VE TRIED TEACHING THEM BECAUSE of THEY BOTH DESIRE TO LEARN ESPECIALLY MY DAD. I’VE ALWAYS SEEN HIM TRY SO HARD TO LEARN AS MUCH AS HE CAN ABOUT WHATEVER HE WANTED TO KNOW IN THIS LIFE & THIS SOCIALABLE WORLD SO I TRY TO ASSIST IN EVERY WAY. SO, WHEN I BEGAN READING THE ARTICLE ONLINE I HAD TO STOP BECAUSE of MY EYES WHERE SO TEARY THAT MY HEART WAS SO FULL & OVERJOYED BY HIS LOVE OF MENTIONING ME THAT I GOT CHOKED UP. FUNNY I SAID ALL OF THIS TO SIMPLY SAY…THANK YOU CLINTON COURIER FOR YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF MY DAD’S STORY & MOST IMPORTANTLY THANK YOU FROM HIS DAUGHTER FROM THE DEEPEST PART OF MY SOUL, THANK YOU ALWAYS …MRS. SHARON JOHNSON QUINN CHS c/o 1991 #GOARROWS #FIRSTLOVES #DADDYSANDDAUGHTERS #VIETNAMVETERANS #GOARMY