upworthy

wwii

Community

107-year-old WWII veteran gets his diploma 93 years after dropping out of high school

"It's a wonderful thing to graduate."

KTIV News 4/YouTube

107-year-old WWII veteran Orville Von Ehwegen receives honorary high school diploma.

Orville Von Ehwegen is proving that it's never too late to give up on your dreams. At 107 years old, he finally received his honorary high school diploma from East Sac County High School in Lake View, Iowa. He was honored during the high school's graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 18.

Von Ehwegen, a veteran of World War II, received his diploma 93 years after he was forced to drop out of school in 8th grade to help his dad on their family farm during the Great Depression.

He never got the chance to attend high school. "“It was gone. That part of my life, it was out,” Von Ehwegen toldKTIV News 4.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Years later, he served in the United States Army during World War II from 1942-1945. Following his military duty, he owned a successful appliance store with his wife.

But earning his high school diploma was something he always missed, something his friends and family knew. Recently, they rallied around him and reached out to East Sac County High School.

"I didn’t hardly think that it would ever, ever, ever happen. Never happen to me anyway. And it was just wonderful the way it turned out," Von Ehwegen told KTIV News 4. "That’s quite an honor. I’ve never been honored like that before."

During the ceremony, Von Ehwegen was presented with his honorary diploma, and received a standing ovation. He also posed with his fellow Class of 2025 graduates.

"I was always kind, worked hard, and just enjoyed the life that I could. And it worked out just beautiful. Probably wasn’t as nice as going to high school and getting a diploma. But look what I got here," he told the news outlet.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

In another interview with SiouxCity Journal, he shared that the news he would be graduating came as a total surprise. And when he found out he would be recognized, he said, "Oh my God!" before agreeing to be honored.

Von Ehwegen's friend Steve Irwin helped lead the charge to get him the honorary diploma. "One thing led to another, and the school agreed to do an honorary diploma. So, I called back and and asked him if he thought that would be a good idea. And he kind of hemmed and hawed for about a half a second and said, sure, that sounds like a really good idea,” Irwin told FOX 17.

graduation, graduate, high school, high school graduation, diplomaJennifer Love Hewitt Graduation GIFGiphy

Von Ehwegen has had an incredible life. He told The Messenger that he was born on Aug. 21, 1917. He recalled life growing up as "hard work" and "long hours," noting that he rode a pony eight miles to attend a Lutheran school. But when things got more difficult for his family during the Great Depression, his dad approached him about dropping out of school.

"He says, ‘Bud, I can’t send you to high school this year because I can’t afford a hired man.’ That was in ’33," Ehwegen told the publication. "‘And you have to stay home and help me with the farm.'"

Through it all, he persevered. Congrats, Mr. Von Ehwegen!

From Your Site Articles
WWII
Popular

A Kanye West fan forum responded to his antisemitism with a deluge of Holocaust education

A heartening response to his horrifying interviews.

Photo by Pixabay/Pexels

Train tracks leading into Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp.

Kanye West (who has legally changed his name to Ye) has been making headlines—again—not only for his bizarre public behavior, but for blatantly antisemitic remarks he made in recent interviews.

There's no question that Ye's comments praising Hitler and Nazis and denying that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust are hurtful and dangerous. There's no question that bad actors are using Ye's antisemitic comments to push their white nationalist agenda. The question is whether Ye fans would allow their admiration of his musical talents—or whatever else they like about him—to overshadow the fact that he is now regularly spewing pro-Nazi rhetoric to millions of people.

In at least one corner of the internet, fans are responding in what may be the most effective and meaningful way possible—by countering Ye's commentary with a deluge of Holocaust education and remembrance.

Reddit's r/kanye subreddit is a page dedicated to discussing all things Ye, and it currently has more than 700,000 members. After Ye's interviews on Tim Pool's podcast and Alex Jones' Infowars this past week, in which he spoke of loving Hitler and Nazis while complaining of being wronged by Jews, members began flooding the forum with posts about people who fought the Nazis in World War II, information about the victims of the Holocaust and remembrances of those who were murdered in the genocide.

It was a heartening response to Ye's horrific views, and especially powerful coming from people who consider (or considered) themselves huge fans of the artist.

One example is this post of a photo showing emaciated prisoners of Buchenwald concentration camp with a quote from Ye's Infowars appearance, in which he said, "I don't like the word 'evil' next to Nazis."

from Kanye

Another poster shared a photo of three survivors of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi death camp, showing the tattoos of their prison camp numbers on their forearms.

from Kanye

Another shared a photo of the "Book of Names" at Auschwitz-Birkenau, where the names of those murdered in the Holocaust are written.

from Kanye

Dozens of posts shared in the subreddit include photos of Jewish children who had their childhoods destroyed, people who suffered in concentration camps, heroes of the Holocaust who helped saved lives and more. Judging from the posts and comments, there appears to be widespread agreement on the subreddit that Ye's antisemitism must be condemned in the strongest terms and that people need to know that his statements about the Holocaust are wrong.

"This is officially a Holocaust awareness sub," wrote one poster who shared an infographic about how many young people are woefully uninformed about that piece of human history.

The transformation of the subreddit is a testament to the power of social media. Though misinformation spreads fast and social media can easily become a cesspool of toxicity, when people use it for good it can be a place where reasonable, righteous voices rise to the top.

It's certainly sad and frustrating for folks who have felt a connection with Ye's music to witness him spiraling further and further into bigoted madness. Feeling the need to speak out against someone who has been a positive force in your life isn't a comfortable spot to be in. But there are views that are unconscionable and messages that simply cannot be tolerated, and Ye's remarks egregiously cross both of those lines.

Fandom doesn't mean fanaticism and no reasonable person can possibly defend the antisemitism Ye is pushing. (Heck, some of the most unreasonable people aren't even trying to defend it.) Whatever his mental health situation may be, attacking Jews and supporting Nazis is wrong and harmful and needs to be named as such.

Simply calling it out isn't enough, though, when falsehoods flow freely. Sharing accurate education about the Holocaust so that people can gain a deeper understanding of the scale and systemization of the world's largest genocide is one way to not just call out antisemitism but to battle it with truth. The Holocaust carried out by Hitler and the Nazis is a historical reality no one should remain ignorant of and no one should get a pass for denying, no matter how famous or once beloved they may be.

From Your Site Articles
holocaust education
Education

All-female flight crews known as 'Night Witches' bombed the crap out of Nazi targets in WWII

The Germans were terrified of these pilots whose silent planes swooped in like ghosts.

Avgeekjoe/Flickr

The Night Witches were feared by the Germans for their stealth bombing runs.

If you like stories of amazing women, buckle up, because this one is a wild ride.

During WWII, the Soviet Air Force's 588th Night Bomber Regiment flew incredibly harrowing missions, bombing Germans with rudimentary biplanes in the dead of night. The Germans called them Nachthexen—"Night Witches"—because the only warning they had before the bombs hit was an ominous whooshing sound akin to a witch's broom.

The "whoosh" sound was due to the fact that the women would cut the planes' engines as they approached, gliding in stealthily before dropping their bombs. And the Night Witches moniker was fitting, considering the fact that the 588th was an all-female regiment.

Their missions were incredibly dangerous, especially considering how the women were equipped. Most of the recruits were in their late teens to mid-20s, and crew members had to learn how to pilot, navigate and maintain the aircraft so they could serve the regiment in any capacity. They underwent an intensive year of training to learn what usually took several years to master.

The planes they flew were rickety biplanes made of plywood and canvas, which were usually used for crop dusting and training. According to the Wright Museum, a tracer bullet could easily cause the plane to burst into flames, causing some of the women to refer to their aircraft as "a coffin with wings." The planes' top speed was just 90 mph, and the weight of the two bombs and crew they carried meant they had to fly low. That made the planes easily visible targets, so the women only flew their missions under the cover of darkness.

The open design of the aircraft and the fact that they flew at night also meant that the women were fully exposed to frigid temperatures during Soviet winters. According to The History Channel, the planes would get so cold, touching them would tear off bare skin.

Since there had been no women in combat in the Air Force before, they were given hand-me-down men's uniforms and had to tear up bedding to stuff into the end of their boots to make them fit properly. Due to the limited capacity of their aircraft and limited funds, they also were deprived of the modern equipment their male counterparts had access to—radar, radios, machine guns and even parachutes. Instead, they had to use maps, rulers, compasses, stopwatches and pencils to perform their missions. And if they needed to bail out, they just hoped they were close enough to the ground to survive.

Up to 40 two-person crews would be sent out each night to complete between eight and 18 missions each. They would go out in groups of three, with two planes acting as decoys to draw the German searchlights and flack gun attacks away from the third. The one advantage the small, slow biplanes had was maneuverability, so they relied on fancy flying to create a diversion. When the navigator of the third plane tapped the pilot on the shoulder, she would kill the engine and silently swoop in for the bomb drop. The three planes would each take turns in this manner until all three planes had dropped their payloads.

The term "Night Witches" was coined by the Germans, but the women took on the nickname with pride. They had every reason to be proud. They were so feared that any German who downed one of their planes was automatically awarded the prestigious Iron Cross medal.

From June 1942 to October 1943, they flew more than 23,000 combat sorties, collectively logging over 28,000 flight hours and dropping more than 3,000 tons of bombs and 26,000 incendiary shells on Nazi targets. Their bombing raids wreaked havoc on river crossings, railways, warehouses, fuel depots, armored cars, firing positions and other valuable logistical targets. They also made 155 food and ammunition supply drops to other Soviet armed forces.

By the end of the war, the Soviets has lost 32 Night Witches in service. The 588th Regiment was highly decorated; of the 89 Soviet women who received the Hero of the Soviet Union award—the country's highest honor in WWII—22 were Night Witches.

However, when the Soviet Union held a massive victory parade after the war, the Night Witches weren't included in it. Their planes, which these badass women had painted flowers on to add a feminine touch, were deemed too slow.

Learn more about the Night Witches with NBC News Learn:

From Your Site Articles
night witches
Videos

WWII vet finally meets the girl who wrote him a letter that he's carried for 12 years

CBS Evening News/YouTube

Frank Grasberger has been wishing he could meet Dashauna Priest for more than a decade. The 95-year-old WWII veteran from Strongsville, Ohio received a letter from Priest wrote when she was in the third grade 12 years ago, and he has kept it as a prized possession since then.

The letter was addressed, "Dear WWII Veteran," and read, "Thank you for saving us from Hitler. If it wasn't for you we would never have freedom. You made freedom for us. You sacrificed your life. I'm so happy you made sacrifices." It was signed, "Your friend, Dashauna Priest."

Grasberger's wife, Delores, told CBS News that he carries the letter everywhere. He said he sees it as a symbol of a life well-lived.

"I'm tickled to death that I have a letter like this," Grasberger told CBS. "I'd never be without it...it's something that somebody thought of me that much."

Delores added, "When he has that letter with him, he has a feeling of faith, and trust, and love."

Priest, now 21, told CBS News that she remembers writing the letter and was honored to do so because she so admired people in uniform. Now Priest has a uniform of her own as a member of the National Guard, and she wore it when she went to surprise Grasberger at the senior residence facility where he lives.

The Grasbergers had always wanted to find Priest but had never been able to. Knowing about his attachment to the letter and how much it meant to him, the staff at the residence facility tracked her down and arranged the surprise meeting for him.

Grasberger was overjoyed. Just watch:

WWII veteran meets woman who wrote him thank-you letter 12 years agowww.youtube.com

Priest told CBS that meeting Grasberger was the beginning of a friendship, then corrected herself. "Family, not friendship," she said.

What a beautiful story of gratitude, honor, sacrifice, and connection. You just never know the impact one small gesture will have on someone else's life.

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
culture
Trending Stories