Eudora ? Plenty happened in 87-year-old Lonnie Corbin’s life, and he didn’t have much in the way of big regrets.

He was a sergeant in the Army during World War II. He adopted and raised twin girls, Sharon and Karon. And he worked 27 years for Lawrence Paper Mill.

But the fact he never got a high school diploma continued to bother him even though he is now long retired and living at Eudora Nursing Center.

Now, thanks to a relatively new federal program, Corbin will receive his high school diploma. He’ll be a graduate of Liberty Memorial High School, a school that hasn’t existed for almost 50 years.

“Back then going to high school was a bigger thing, like getting a chance to go to college these days,” said Karon Thoren, Corbin’s daughter.

The honorary diploma Corbin will receive was made possible by an initiative started under the Clinton administration to honor World War II veterans who otherwise couldn’t earn their diploma because they were serving their country.

Back to school

Born in 1915, Corbin was one of nine children. After finishing eighth grade at Manual High, the current site of Douglas County Bank at Ninth and Kentucky streets, Corbin left school to make a living.

Instead of attending Liberty Memorial High School, he worked for Dr. Ira J. Pierson, a veterinarian, for the next eight years. During that time, Pierson’s mother noted Corbin’s interest in reading.

“She said, ‘Lonnie you like to read?’ I said, ‘yes.’ Then she said, ‘would you go back to school?’ ‘Oh, yes!'” Corbin said, reliving the conversation.

With the Piersons’ financial support  they even bought his books  Corbin, then 19, went back to the classroom.

But one semester shy of his diploma, Corbin was drafted by the Army. He left school again. The army stationed him at Fort Robinson, Neb., where he trained dogs for war.

“Dogs would search for soldiers, or help them home, and even attack,” Corbin said.

Discharged from the service, he returned to Lawrence, where he worked 27 years at the Lawrence Paper Mill. The plant closed just a few years before he was to retire. He then worked at Reuter Organ Company.

During those years, he met others less educated than himself, making him even more aware of the valuable education he had received.

“I use to work with men who couldn’t even sign their names,” Corbin said.

Passing on the knowledge

He made sure his daughters understood the importance of education.

“He used to tell us how important it was to get an education because it could only help you get a better job and be a better person. He gave us watches for graduation … he gave them to us for Christmas, but he said, ‘Just because you have your watches, you still have to graduate,'” said Sharon Engelbrecht, Corbin’s daughter.

Engelbrecht found out about the program that helped Corbin get his diploma from a federal Web site. Lawrence High School processed the paperwork for the family. LHS Principal Dick Patterson said Corbin is one of only two area veterans to receive a diploma since the program started.

“It’s pretty neat,” said Corbin. He stretched out his old, weathered arms to grab hold of his daughters hands. A look of endearment beamed from his watering eyes.

“These are my dolls,” he said of his daughters. “I’m so proud of them.”