At 82, decorated Army Green Beret, Vietnam War veteran gets high school diploma

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82-year-old Earl McMillan, with a 20-year Army career as a Green Beret, decorated Vietnam War veteran, Purple Heart recipient, CPA and a college professor, received his high school diploma at the 2023 Citrus High School graduation in May. In this photo, Marine veteran Richard Hunt assists McMillan with his cap for a photo.

Of his many accomplishments, Earl McMillan was missing one thing.

Because he quit high school in the 12th grade to join the Army in 1958, he never received a high school diploma.

Until this past May 25 when McMillan, in his black graduation cap and gown and gold sash, walked across the stage to a standing ovation from the audience in the stands as he received his diploma, along with the Citrus High School Class of 2023.

Earl McMillan, 82, dropped out of high school in the 12th grade to join the Army. He went on to serve 20 years as a Green Beret, including two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. He received his high school diploma at the 2023 Citrus High School graduation in May.

Congressman Gus Bilirakis flew in from Washington, D.C., just for this event and presented McMillan with a proclamation and entered his history into the Congressional Record.

In 2013, the Florida Legislature passed legislation allowing the Commissioner of Education to award a standard high school diploma to an honorably discharged veteran who has not completed high school graduation requirements.

“I grew up in Fort Lauderdale and was having problems at home with my stepdad,” McMillan said. “I was in the 12th grade, halfway through, but things were bad enough at home that I couldn’t stay there.”

The Korean War had ended five years prior to that, and Vietnam was heating up.

“In high school, I was in the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the Air Force, for about three years, so I was familiar with the military,” he said. “We wore uniforms, had drillings and camps.

“I even got to fly and occasionally the pilot would let me take the stick and I’d follow him through as we took off and landed.”

He said that after the Korean War ended and service members returned home, he would talk to them about their military service.

“Some of them were (Army) Rangers, and a recruiter asked me what I wanted to be and I said I’d like to be a Ranger. But you had to be 18 and I was 17,” he said.

The recruiter told him about a new program at the time, one that allowed 17-year-olds to join: Army Special Forces.

On Earl McMillan’s graduation sash: medals and awards from his 20-year military service as an Army Green Beret, including a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.

As McMillan told his story to the Chronicle, Richard Hunt, McMillan’s friend and fellow Vietnam War veteran, stopped the conversation.

“You have to know this about this man,” Hunt said of McMillan. “He won’t tell you that he served as a Green Beret. He won’t tell you that he learned four languages, that he entered the Army as an enlisted man, got his GED, went to college and was commissioned as an officer, got a masters degree in business, served two tours in Vietnam as commander of two Green Beret camps in Vietnam that saw seriously heavy action and was awarded a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars with a V for combat, was wounded in action and received a Purple Heart.

“We have a saying: ‘All gave some, some gave all and some keep on giving,’” Hunt said. “This man is my hero, and in his humility, all he would tell you is, ‘I was simply doing my job.’ But what he did was simply amazing.”

After serving 20 years in the Army, McMillan retired in 1978 and moved to Virginia with his wife and family, where he worked as a CPA, specializing in nonprofits, and he also taught computer, accounting and business classes at St. Leo College (now St. Leo University) both in Virginia and Florida.

McMillan eventually moved to Zephyrhills, where he taught at Hillsborough Community College for 14 years.

It was while he lived in Zephyrhills and involved with the local Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) chapter that he met Hunt, who was MOPH state commander.

Hunt also told McMillan about Grand Living at Citrus Hills assisted living facility, where he is now a resident.

And, as Hunt got to know more about McMillan’s life, he told him about the high school diploma program for military veterans.

Hunt received his own high school diploma in 2021.

As a 17-year-old, McMillan joined the Army Green Berets.

Earl McMillan skydiving while in the Army. “One of the highlights of my life was high-altitude parachuting,” McMillan said. “You jump out of a plane, and at a high altitude with your parachute unopened, you’re going 120 miles per hour or faster.”

He served in the Infantry doing demolitions and later as part of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

At the language school in Monterey, California, he learned Polish. He also went on to learn Lingala, the language spoken in areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also Spanish and Vietnamese.

He was named National Soldier of the Year by the Special Forces Association Chapter 16.

And now he has a high school diploma.

Nancy Kennedy can be reached at 352-564-2927 or by email at [email protected].

Do you know of a veteran in Citrus County who missed out on receiving a high school diploma because he or she joined the military?

Section 1003.4286, Florida Statutes, provides for the award of a standard high school diploma to eligible veterans who meet the following criteria:

Left a public or non-public school located in any state prior to graduation and entered the armed forces of the United States.

Is a current resident of the state of Florida, or was previously enrolled in any high school in this state, or was a resident of the state of Florida at the time of death.

Is honorably discharged from the armed forces of the United States as verified by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

For more information, contact Richard Hunt at 407-579-6190.

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