55 years later, Chicago veteran receives high school diploma

Ray Ortiz was originally part of Lake View High School's Class of 1964. On June 11, 2017, he received his high school diploma.

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Fifty-five years after Ray Ortiz left high school to join the Marines, he has earned his diploma.

On Sunday, Ortiz graduated from Taft High School in Chicago during a ceremony at the Rosemont Theater in Rosemont where he donned a cap and gown with the school's Class of 2017.

He had originally attended Lake View High School in Chicago, part of the Class of 1964.

Ortiz, who moved to the U.S. from Puerto Rico when he was young, was a 17-year-old sophomore when he enlisted.

He served in Vietnam and is now a member of the American Legion Post 216 in Elk Grove Village.

Ray Ortiz graduated June 11, 2017 from Taft High School in Chicago -- 55 years after joining the Marine Corps.

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