Vietnam vet to receive HS diploma
Worked as a Cohoes firefighter for over 30 years
COHOES, N.Y. » Students from Cohoes High School’s Class of 2018 will have a special guest graduating with them on Saturday morning.
More than 50 years after leaving school to serve his country, Allen Aubin is set to receive his high school diploma from Cohoes High School.
The 72-year- old Cohoes resident attended a local Catholic high school, but in September 1964 he enlisted in the Army following his junior year. He served in Vietnam as a machine gunner until October 1966 when he was wounded in action. He was awarded a Purple Heart and reached the rank of sergeant before being honorably discharged in September 1967.
After the Army, Aubin worked as a Cohoes firefighter for more than three decades.
While he was in training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Aubin passed the GED exam, but did not receive any type of certificate.
“So it still bothers him that he never received a diploma,” Cohoes school board member Mark Pascale said in a recent news release.
Pascale played an integral role in researching how to get Aubin a diploma after discussing the matter with him one morning at Stewart’s. He discovered that Aubin’s military credentials qualified him for Operation Recognition, a program that allows veterans to receive a diploma if they left school without graduating.
This past year, Aubin was also honored as the city of Cohoes’ grand marshall at its annual Memorial Day parade.
Aubin will receive his diploma with the Cohoes Class of 2018 at the district’s graduation ceremony at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 23 at HVCC.