Guadalupe Lopez left high school to go serve his country in the Vietnam War. Coming from a patriotic family with brothers who served in the Korean War, the then Santa Maria resident felt it was his calling to follow in their footsteps, Lopez said.
“I wanted to finish school and have a diploma, but because of the war—at that point—I needed to do my part for my country,” said Lopez, who now lives in Santa Barbara.
He served in combat for two tours as a machine gunner and added that he saw a lot of devastation during his time overseas. When he returned, he jumped right back into the workforce—first harvesting seasonal produce in Santa Maria’s fields and then getting a job in the roofing industry, where he remained for his career, he said.
Outside of work, he got married and had children, spoke to high school students about his time in Vietnam, became a pastor, and learned how to play several musical instruments. But Lopez said that he felt he missed out on his educational opportunities.
“I always regretted not finishing school, not getting a GED, or going back to school. When I got back from Vietnam, there was no way I was going to continue on with school. Work was very hard and once you got off at 5/5:30 p.m., the best you could do was go home, eat dinner, and take a shower. I had too many things going on,” Lopez said.
He said that recently one of his friends—who served in the South Pacific—told Lopez about a Santa Barbara County program that allows veterans to receive high school diplomas, and recommended that he apply. Lopez took that advice, and on April 7, he received his diploma along with five other veterans through a County Education Office initiative: Operation Recognition.
“I was flabbergasted. They had a ceremony that I can’t express how beautiful it was. I’ve been to high school graduations when I had nephews and grandchildren graduate, but this year was the best graduation I’ve been to,” Lopez said.
More than 200 people attended the ceremony, which was hosted by the Santa Barbara County Education Office, and marked the second year the county honored veterans with retroactive diplomas, County Superintendent of Schools Susan Salcido said.
“I first heard of this program in 2018 when I first started as the county superintendent, and I wanted to bring it into our county. Our first Operation Recognition graduation was in 2019, and we knew we wanted to do another one,” Salcido said.
As COVID-19 restrictions died down, Salcido and her team decided it was time for another graduation; the county reached out through social media, publications, and local veterans offices to spread the word about the diploma program. Through that outreach, they identified the six graduates, she said.
The diploma program called for veterans from World War II, the Vietnam War, or the Korean War to apply. After a verification process, the county is able to grant diplomas to the veterans through the California Education Code, which states that education offices are authorized to give retroactive diplomas to eligible veterans, Salcido explained.
“It was a really remarkable day. It is such an honor to recognize these individuals who served our country,” she said. “I have the deepest respect for these individuals who served our country. It’s our way of giving back and showing gratitude.”
Salcido said she hopes to bring the opportunity back in the future. Recent recipient Lopez said he’d recommend any veteran apply to receive their diploma.
“I felt really good. I felt that people really care about us. I wasn’t expecting that,” Lopez said about the ceremony. “I was thinking some person from the schools was going to hand me my diploma and I was going to walk away.”
He added that it affected him sentimentally more than anything. Now retired, he reflected on how it positively impacted his self-esteem after struggling with it for many years.
“Now that I have my diploma, I feel better about myself. Almost 100 percent. I’m happy-go-lucky now. I have a beautiful wife and beautiful grandchildren. I’m flabbergasted, I couldn’t ask for any more; I’m a happy camper,” Lopez said.
Highlight
• SoCalGas announced a second $525,000 donation to the California Restaurant Foundation’s Restaurant Care Resilience Funds. Funding applications are open through April 20, and restaurants in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties are encouraged to apply for the $3,000 grants. SoCalGas’ partnerships with the California Restaurant Foundation is a part of the company’s ASPIRE 2045 sustainability goals, which includes a commitment to invest $50 million to drive positive change in diverse and underserved communities over the next five years.
Taylor O’Connor wrote this week’s Spotlight. You can reach her at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 21-28, 2022.
