North High Presents Honorary Diploma to WWII Navy Veteran

During a weekend when the nation annually honors our military veterans, it seems fitting that North High School has planned a special presentation for two former students and veterans of the United States Marines and United States Navy.

Vernon “Paul” Young was a student at North High School from 1939 to 1941. He was due to graduate in the spring of 1942 but instead he chose to enlist in the United States Navy on December 8, 1941, one day after the assault on Pearl Harbor. He was only one semester and a few credits short of meeting the requirements for graduation but he chose to leave high school and serve his country.

Paul Young will be presented with an honorary diploma at a ceremony on:

Friday, May 24
8:45 AM
North High School
501 Holcomb Ave.
Gymnasium

North High School also will pay tribute to Paul’s older brother, Marion Peter Young. Marion Young graduated from North High School in the spring of 1939 where he was an outstanding baseball and basketball player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps serving as a gunner aboard the USS Nashville in the Philippine Sea. Sadly, Marion and 133 other American Service members were killed when a kamikaze pilot crashed his plane onto the deck of their ship during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in December of 1944.