SALINAS VALLEY — Francis Rubbo could have graduated from Gonzales High School in the 1940s, but instead he left to serve as a Fireman First Class in the U.S. Navy during World War II, from 1943 to 1946.
Decades later, during a small ceremony Nov. 5 at Eden Valley Care Center in Soledad, the 95-year-old veteran received his high school diploma.
County Superintendent Deneen Guss handed the diploma to Rubbo on behalf of Monterey County Office of Education’s Operation Recognition program. Through the program, veterans who are in good standing with the military and who live in the county can apply to receive their high school diplomas if their original graduation was missed due to service.
Six veterans have applied so far, with one still in the works and Rubbo’s having been the latest this year to go through after approval from Eden Valley to hold the ceremony there.
“We are so very excited to honor him,” Guss said. “He clearly chose to defend our freedoms by serving in the military rather than being able to complete his educational pathway.” She added, “You’re never too old to reach your college and career dreams and your high school diploma dreams.”
“I appreciate it very much,” Rubbo said about the ceremony.
Rubbo said he will give the diploma itself to his family, and said it’s likely his oldest son, Ricky, would put it on display. He has three sons and a daughter.
“When I turned 18, I had a choice to go into service,” Rubbo said. “I had three brothers in the service, two in the Army and another brother in the Navy. So I enlisted to go into the Navy and make it two and two.”
To serve during the war, Rubbo left Gonzales High, where he said he was fully active in football, baseball and basketball.
“To be willing to leave your family, your friends, your high school at a time when you’re so young, to be willing to say you’ll put that on hold to serve your country,” Guss said in recognition of the personal sacrifices Rubbo made to serve.
In reflecting on the war, Rubbo said the best day was when he was told the war was over. However, combat was what he said was the worst part.
“Just having to fight and thinking I’m never going to come back home,” he said.
After coming home from the war, Rubbo served as a fireman in Gonzales and drove tractors. His advice to the youth of today was, “Stay in school and study.”
The original plans for Operation Recognition were for the approved veterans to all gather in a countywide graduation ceremony. Those plans shifted to individualized small ceremonies complete with robes due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Even the pandemic isn’t going to keep us from recognizing our veterans, they’re so deserving,” Guss said. “They’re our heroes. You can’t let heroes down.”
Younger veterans are able to make arrangements to have their ceremonies at the county office in Salinas.
The graduations are not only held as ceremonies, but also part of a documentary being put together by MCOE. The veterans have been interviewed for their experiences and thoughts in order to share with others as well as to have a family keepsake.
Guss said the project will continue in following years until they are no longer able to find veterans who need diplomas. She said family and friends of contacted veterans have also helped get the word out, with such a referral being how the county made contact with Rubbo earlier in the year.
“It’s heartwarming, when you see the tears, you know how important it is to them, to the family,” Guss said. “This is just a story of encouragement … don’t let war, don’t let a pandemic, don’t let anything get in your way of doing what you set out to accomplish.”
