For a number of Minnesotans, answering the call to serve meant risking their lives for the nation, and sometimes sacrificing their education, too.
A new Minnesota law set to take effect Aug. 1 will recognize veterans who never finished high school while serving in the Korean or Vietnam wars by issuing honorary high school diplomas.
A veteran may request a diploma on their own behalf, or a family member may make a posthumous request on behalf of a deceased veteran or service member. The high school diploma is awarded based on the veteran’s knowledge and experience gained while in service, or the veteran’s other relevant lived experience. The school district or charter school may require the veteran or veteran’s requestor to provide evidence that the veteran was a Minnesota public school student or is a current Minnesota resident.
The diploma provision, sponsored by Rep. Patricia Mueller (R-Austin) and Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (DFL-Eden Prairie), passed both chambers unanimously during the 2026 legislative session and was part of a broader education bill signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz on May 27.
Inspiration for the new law came to Sen. Jordan Rasmusson (R-Fergus Falls) after a visit to the Fergus Falls Veterans Home, according to the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus.
“After a wonderful community event, a couple of residents came over to speak with me and asked whether there would ever be an opportunity for them to receive their high school diploma,” said Rasmusson. “They had answered the call of duty and left school behind to serve our country during the Vietnam War.”
Diploma programs for veterans who left school to serve aren’t new. In 1999, Massachusetts established the “Operation Recognition” initiative. The program began with a graduation ceremony at Gardner High School that presented diplomas to 39 World War II veterans, nine of whom were honored posthumously. Roughly 70 more Massachusetts communities adopted it shortly after. A 2001 Michigan legislative analysis, citing an Army News Service release from that June, listed Minnesota among more than 20 states that had already enacted or were working toward some form of Operation Recognition. Minnesota’s 2026 law now mandates that districts and charter schools issue the diploma on request, rather than participate at their own discretion.
At the local level, schools around the country have used Operation Recognition as a learning tool for their high school students and a way to honor local heroes.
The Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services summed up the measure as “better late than never.”
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Thank you to the men and women who left school to answer the nation’s call to serve. May this be one of many recognitions that shows the lasting respect and appreciation we have for your service and commitment to our nation.
