A retired Master Sgt. from the United States Marine Corps is the latest veteran to receive a special diploma from the Hall County School System.
Russell Rego, who left high school at the age of 16 to enlist, received his North Hall High School diploma during Monday night's meeting of the Hall County School Board.
"When I finished my freshman year, I thought joining the Marines would be better than going to school," Rego said in an interview following the diploma presentation.
His parents had to give written permission for Rego to enlist at an early age, and he said with their signatures, he enlisted and found himself in boot camp in August 1972. He stayed in the Marine Corps until he retired in 1993, serving a short time in Vietnam and also during Operation Desert Storm.
Rego then returned home to Hall County, where he worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 20 years and retired from that career.
While Rego earned a high school equivalency certificate during his working career, the thought of a getting diploma from NHHS was always in the back of his mind.
"It's not the same [the GED] - my kids went to North Hall, I went to North Hall, I played football for North Hall - I wanted a North Hall diploma," Rego said.
The desire was really fueled when he saw newspaper coverage of Hall County School Board members awarding diplomas to fellow veterans who served in the military during their high school years. Rego said he called one of the recipients he knew and asked about the process and that started the ball rolling.
Rego was called upon at Monday night's board meeting to lead the Pledge of Allegiance with School System Superintendent Will Schofield. Then, prior to the diploma presentation, Schofield praised Rego and other veterans who put their educations on hold for military service.
"Somebody once said to me 'I think it's nice that you're giving those fellas diplomas.' I told them we're not giving anybody anything. These individuals gave of themselves so that we can enjoy what we enjoy today. They earned every bit of the diploma that we award them," Schofield said.
As for his new North Hall High School diploma, Rego said he'll put it in his "man cave" right alongside his high school equivalency certificate and his military school recognitions.
