101-year-old WWII vet finally walked at the stage of his graduation ceremony

A 101-year-old World War II veteran, Fred Taylor, achieved a remarkable milestone when he walked across the stage at his graduation ceremony after an 80-year wait to officially receive his diploma in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Back in 1943, Fred Taylor had to forgo his graduation ceremony because he was deployed to serve with the Army Air Corps Reserve during World War II.

While speaking to Fox News Digital, Fred Taylor of La Mesa, California, expressed that during World War II, nearly every able-bodied man and many women were involved, estimating a total of 16 million people. He had no regrets about joining the service and enjoyed flying, but his only regret was missing his graduation ceremony, which would have been the natural conclusion to his senior year.

Fred Taylor joined 200 graduates from the Cornell College Class of 2023 for the graduation ceremony, and he was warmly embraced by the students as one of their own. Whenever his name was mentioned, the entire audience gave him a standing ovation, which touched the heart of Jonathan Brand, the president of Cornell College. Brand described Taylor as gracious, humble, articulate, warm, loving, and everything one would hope a Cornellian would be.

Brand expressed that the love for Taylor was due to his connection to Cornell, his military service, and his enduring spirit. Although Taylor had fulfilled all the requirements for a music degree from Cornell College, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent involvement of the United States in World War II altered the fate of many young men of his generation, including Taylor.

Taylor explained that he and some friends joined the Army Air Corps Reserve because they wanted to fly instead of being foot soldiers. However, in February 1943, during his senior year, the Air Corps Reserves were activated, and they had to leave college for basic training in Missouri, causing them to miss their graduation ceremony and leaving them with a sense of incompleteness.

While Taylor was engaged in the war, his father had to pick up his diploma from campus, driving 10 miles to do so.

Interestingly, Taylor’s daughter Linda Taylor, a professor emeritus at the University of Miami, contacted Cornell College a few months ago to discuss the possibility of her father walking across the stage during the graduation ceremony and completing what he had once started.

The president of Cornell College expressed the sentiment that something had been left unfinished for a student who missed that culminating moment in his life 80 years ago. Taylor had served his country during World War II and left college to help save the world from a significant threat. Brand saw it as a wonderful opportunity to honor him in front of the students.

Taylor shared his exhilaration and recollected memories, jokingly mentioning his 75-and-a-half-year marriage during the graduation ceremony, which finally fulfilled his long-awaited graduation.