The San Diego County Board of Education will present an honorary high school diploma to Norm Johnson, a Korean War veteran who left school to join the U. S. Air Force.
The judge’s ultimatum came 67 years ago: enlist in the military or face juvenile detention for repeatedly skipping classes at San Diego High School.
Norm Johnson gladly joined the U. S. Air Force in April of 1950. Even after he was deployed to Asia to fight the Korean War, Johnson was sure he wouldn’t miss San Diego or the Grey Castle — save for the sports and judo lessons, which the slight 17-year-old took at his father’s urging.
The ensuing decades were a blur of unbelievable jobs and encounters with dignitaries and celebrities — bodyguard to Gen. Douglas MacArthur, backup dancer to Elvis Presley in “Jailhouse Rock,” and racing cars with James Dean, among them — which Johnson chalks up to smarts, luck and timing.
After amassing personal experiences — some documented with photos and records, others with colorful stories — that could rival Forrest Gump’s, Johnson will receive what he describes as an important accolade Wednesday when he gets an honorary diploma from the San Diego County Office of Education and Operation Recognition Veterans Diploma Project.
Why after all those years, all those experiences, does that sheepskin matter to Johnson?
“I was surprised that it actually does matter to me this much. But it does,” said Johnson, 83. “It will legitimize my life.”
Nearly 70 years after he bolted from San Diego High (the grand old campus dubbed the Grey Castle has long been demolished) Johnson is set to receive a diploma from the San Diego County school board during a makeshift commencement ceremony.
“This program was designed to honor people whose education was disrupted by war.
