Jersey Proud: World War II vet receives his high school diploma 77 years later

Lyndhurst High School graduation was held this week, and while the entire senior class of 2022 was there to celebrate their accomplishment, there was one graduate from the class of 1945.

News 12 Staff

Jun 25, 2022, 2:32 AM

Updated 762 days ago

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Lyndhurst High School graduation was held this week, and while the entire senior class of 2022 was there to celebrate their accomplishment, there was one graduate from the class of 1945.
John Garofalo, 95, put World War II ahead of high school graduation back in 1945 but that changed this week.
At Lyndhurst's commencement, the superintendent presented Garofalo with his diploma 77 years later.
Garofalo left the school two months early in 1945 to join the Navy and never received his diploma.
Garofalo returned to Lyndhurst after the war and never left.


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