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Even with a master's degree, the only diploma hanging on Jack Wiseman's wall is his honorary high-school diploma.
As a troubled youth, he joined the military to have the opportunity to obtain his GED. Missing an arm, he joyfully accepted an honorary high-school diploma. His occupation now invoves working with troubled youth to help them out of the same problems he encountered.
Wiseman spoke to a legislative committee Tuesday afternoon, encouraging it to approve a bill that would award veterans high-school diplomas that they never received due to their service in WWII and the Vietnam and Korean wars.
"This isn't about laws, or ethics," Wiseman said, "its simply from your heart. The real heroes were the kids who stayed in school. This is just an acknowledgement to say, 'thank you,' for those who have turned their lives around."
The committee also heard from supporters of a bill that would give college tuition waivers for dependents of military members killed while on state active duty.
"We see it as an obligation that we have as far as the schools and education," said Col. Scot Olsen of the National Guard, concerning the tuition bill. "This makes all the difference to those families and their future so they can prepare for either the spouse or the children ... and have the opportunity to look to the future with some sort of security. We see that as a debt that we owe."
The honorary high school diploma bill probably won't help veterans' careers, as most of the people who would qualify are retired or near retirement, but it will make a difference, supporters said.
Terry Schow, representing the Veterans Affairs, said the reason these veterans want their high school diplomas has nothing to do with their working career, as most were approaching the end of theirs. The real reason, he said, is that not having a diploma was a matter of pride, and a source of embarrassment.
Sarah Meier of the Utah State Board of Education added that by honoring these men and women, it shows the children and grandchildren of these veterans just how important education is.
Both bills passed the House Education Committee unanimously, and will appear on the House floor for further debate.
Bill boxes:
HB 269, Scott B. Lundell Military Survivors' Tuition Waiver Amendments
Sponsor: Mike Morley, R-Spanish Fork
Bill would expand the undergraduate tuition waiver to surviving dependents of Utah resident military members killed on state active duty; clarify that the waivers are available for surviving dependents, beginning on Sept. 11, 2001; require the Department of Veterans' Affairs to certify the eligibility of surviving dependents to state institutions of higher education.
HB 118, Veterans High School Diplomas
Sponsor: Lynn N. Hemingway, D-Salt Lake City
This bill would provide for honorary high school diplomas for certain veterans. |
