After Bob Barger returned home from World War II, he found a new job and started going to college. But after he got into his career and started a family, finishing his degree wasn’t a priority for the former Navy pilot anymore.
But now the 96-year-old is finally going to get to graduate. A review of Barger’s transcripts from the University of Toledo show he finished enough courses to earn an associate’s degree, a two-year diploma that wasn’t offered while he was a student. And now, 68 years after leaving college, he’s going to get to wear that cap and gown.
"I'm going to be proud to hang that diploma on the wall and think about the friends behind it," Barger says. "I found out without friends, this old world wouldn't be worth living in."