'I Was LDS Already But I Didn't Know It'

Henry "Pete" Newman, a World War II Navy veteran, recently had the chance to participate in high school graduation, after 63 years of waiting.

War veterans are often honored for the trying circumstances they endured while serving their country. However, for some veterans their recollections of war are not the only difficult memories. Sometimes, the pangs of longing for seemingly simple life events they did not get to experience because of military service can be just as difficult to live with.

Until recently, such had been the case for Henry “Pete” Newman, a World War II Navy veteran living in the Pleasant Grove Utah West Stake. Brother Newman left high school in Minnesota at the end of his junior year to enter the U.S. Navy. Although he finished his graduation requirements a few years later, his high school did not award him a diploma. Brother Newman never participated in a graduation ceremony, either.

The memory has not only been difficult, it also has been rehashed with each graduation in his family.

“I had been through the experience of watching each of my children and grandchildren graduate one by one, and each time I was wishing I was in their shoes having my graduation,” he said.

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