LIVINGSTON MANOR — Shortly after Wednesday's Livingston Manor School Board meeting was called to order and everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance, Manor's Class of 2017 got a little bit bigger. Roger Carl Neer, who left school in 1965 to serve in the Army during the Vietnam War, receiving an honorable discharge in 1967, was given his long-delayed high school diploma.

Neer received the diploma through Operation Recognition, which allows certain veterans to earn high school diplomas if they left school without graduating. Section 305 of the New York State Education Law created Operation Recognition to recognize the dedication and sacrifice of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam veterans who left school before graduation by awarding them a high school diploma.

Livingston Manor Superintendent John Evans presented the now 72-year-old Roscoe resident with the diploma, noting that to do so was, “... an honor and privilege.”

Family, friends and school board members then took a moment to celebrate Neer with cake and beverages.

“It means quite a lot,” Neer said about receiving his diploma. “Especially when you get it through the veterans and New York State. It's an honor. I walked these halls a good many times.”

For more information on how a veteran can received a diploma, visit http://www.acces.nysed.gov/aepp/high-school-diploma-veterans