In honor of Veterans Day, Vietnam vet receives high school diploma

Before Samson, Vietnam War veteran Jerry Martin stayed home to avoid being in public. After getting his service dog, Martin was able to cross the stage in front of hundreds of cheering supporters as he collected his high school diploma.

Martin was one of 22 World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War veterans who received their diplomas this week through the Operation Recognition Veterans Diploma Project in San Bernardino County, California. The county's superintendent of schools and department of veterans affairs find veterans who were unable to earn their diplomas because of their service to the country, and making Martin's "goal a reality for him was our way of being able to say, 'Thank you for your service to your country,'" Director of Veterans Affairs Frank Guevara said. Martin was a Navy and Marines corpsman who earned a Bronze Star for valor. "To do my job was to heal and care for the wounded," he said. "The corpsman's motto is, 'To hell and back for a wounded Marine.'"

Martin said when he came home from the war, he felt deep regret and guilt over not being able to save everyone; he was short-tempered and "mad at the world," and would often have nightmares. He was first diagnosed with high-end anxiety; later, it was determined to be PTSD. That's when he was given a prescription for a service dog, and Samson entered his life. "His training has to be a partnership," Martin said. "We are together 24/7. We go everywhere and do everything together because he is an extension of me, he looks after me. If I should have an episode, he will get in my face and bring me back to reality. Samson has been a real stabilizer." Martin, who earned his GED while in the service but was never recognized, had Samson by his side as he accepted his diploma, and said he now feels complete: "It's like a missing piece to a puzzle that I always had to work around my entire life." Catherine Garcia

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