FLORENCE, Ky.-- By now, all of Kentucky's class of 21’ high school graduates have walked across the stage and received their diplomas, which came well deserved after 12 years of hard work, especially dealing with a pandemic the last two years.
But that pales in comparison to waiting 47 years for a diploma, which is how long Rick Hopple has been waiting for his.
“The period at the end of the sentence,” Hopple described it.
That sentence started in 1974 at Boone County High School. Hopple didn’t quite have the credits he needed to graduate when he joined the U.S. Air Force, and packed his bags for North Carolina.
“A lot of people say why do you want it now? And I thought, you know, you go through 12 years of school, and then you have nothing to show for it,” Hopple said. “Never thought it would happen.”
That was until a few years ago, when the Kentucky Legislature passed KRS 158.140, which allowed veterans who went into service before graduating to count that service toward the rest of their credits.
The Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs got in touch with Hopple, which led to him being honored at the Boone County High School’s graduation ceremony on May 28.
“We have one more diploma to award,” the announcer said. “Boone County High School is honored to award a class of 1974 diploma to Ricky Dean Hopple, and thank him for his service to our country.”
It was a moment Hopple had been anticipating for close to five decades. He was nervous.
“And apparently I was the first one in Boone County that’s gone through this,” he said. “It means a lot. At least now I can say I’ve got my diploma, and it just took a while to get it.”
It was an honor for the district as well, Boone County High School Principal Tim Schlotman said.
“Just his excitement about the event as we were leading up to it, in itself, was exciting for us, just to see how much this meant to him personally,” he said. “And you can just tell, throughout the whole process, how much it meant to him to finally be getting his high school diploma.”
A lot has changed between 1974 and 2021, but not Hopple’s pride.
He was proud to serve his country then. He’s proud now, a distinguished member of his graduating class.
“At first, my sister, she was going, well, why did I need it? You know, but when it was all over, she counted on Facebook, and said there was 107 comments on it. And if she took the time to count how many comments, then I guess she was on board too,” he said.
Hopple said he hopes he’s the first of many veterans in Boone County to receive the honor.
“Cause there’s over 3,000 veterans in Boone County, and I know not all of them graduated. And if they see that they’re able to get their diploma that way, hopefully they’ll see that,” he said.
Hopple is a service officer at the American Legion. He said he plans on helping other veterans get recognized.