Three area veterans who left high school early to serve their country received Lehighton Area High School diplomas Monday night.

Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver called it an honor and a privilege for the district to recognize Herb Zimmerman, David Bryfogle and Carl Haydt."They weren't able to walk across the stage, but they get their moment tonight," Cleaver said at Monday's school board meeting.Zimmerman entered the U.S. Navy in June 1950 and served abroad on the USS William C. Lawe.A signal man who was promoted four times during active duty, he touched down on three continents and 22 countries.He is a member of the Royal Order of the Blue Nose for sailors who have crossed the Arctic Circle."I started school in Weissport and there were still five one-room schools around," Zimmerman recalled. "I foolishly dropped out of high school and when I got to the Navy, I thought, how am I going to compete with these kids from the big cities, but I did it."Zimmerman went on to trade school and had an eight-year stint as supervisor of buildings and grounds for Woodbury Public Schools in New Jersey.His uncles, Charles and Allen Zimmerman, were president and vice president respectively of Lehighton's Class of 1932.Bryfogle was 17 when he entered the Navy in 1970. Transferred from the Naval Air Station Glynco in Georgia to the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, he served abroad on the USS La Salle.He stepped foot in every country of the Persian Gulf except Afghanistan and was one of the few Americans to go to Iran.After returning to Norfolk in 1973, Bryfogle was honorably discharged from the Navy one year later and started a 10-year run as a Naval reserve officer."My mother always taught me good things take time," he said of receiving a diploma. "I dropped out of school for two reasons. My father quit school to serve in World War II in northern Italy. And one of my biggest influences was Ray Koons, who was also a high school dropout but went on to serve in the Marines and get his GED."After returning from active duty, Bryfogle said he approached the district about getting a diploma but "they didn't want to hear it.""I guess they were mad at me for dropping out," he said, "but I'm proud of what I did. I raised a wonderful family, I just wish my son could be here to see this."Bryfogle's son passed away in May after a battle with muscular dystrophy."This means a lot to me," he said.Haydt began his time in the Marine Corps in 1969."I got drafted and was supposed to go into the Army, but my buddies talked me into joining the Marines," Haydt recalled. "I ended up in Guantanamo Bay protecting the base there. I then went to Southeast Asia and spent nine months in Vietnam. I came home and I was out."