Vietnam veteran receives diploma — 48 years later

SALEM -- Jacob Hal Klemann walked out of Salem High School with his diploma in hand Monday night -- finally a Class of 1973 Quaker alumnus.

"I feel blessed, very happy," the 66-year-old Indianapolis resident said.

Complete with photos and handshakes, the brief ceremony to award him an honorary diploma during the school board meeting came almost 48 years after his classmates donned their caps and gowns.

For Klemann, though, the moment was just as sweet as it would have been back then. Not having that SHS diploma bothered him, so seeing his name on the genuine article meant a lot.

On the verge of his senior year on July 31, 1972, Klemann, who goes by Jake, enlisted in the U.S. Army. The Vietnam War was raging on and he looked at the service as a good option.

"I felt some sense of patriotic duty. I always wanted to be a soldier," he said.

He served three years stateside, earning his GED or high school equivalency diploma while in the Army, becoming an instructor in the Armor School at Fort Knox. After his discharge, he took some college courses at Kent State University and at Oakland University in Michigan.

During his lifetime to date, he's had almost two full careers, working first as a sales manager for a large chemical recycling firm known as Safety-Kleen for 18 1/2 years. Then for 23 1/2 years, he ran his own manufacturing business in Indianapolis. COVID-19 permanently wiped out the company in March 2020.

He's been doing some work installing gutter guard systems and is rebooting his career in real estate, currently studying for his real estate license.

He recalled talking with Coach John Cabas about what he wanted to do in 1972. Cabas told him the school board was working on a program to grant honorary diplomas, urging him to come back someday.

Six weeks ago, Klemann made the call, talking with senior high secretary Darlene Heineman, who handles diplomas. After phone calls and emails, the day finally came.

His wife, Trish, accompanied him to the board meeting.

"I can't think of a more deserving person," Superintendent Sean Kirkland said, adding this was his first opportunity to hand out an honorary diploma.

Klemann's parents were Jacob and Susan and his brother Jim graduated SHS in 1971. Klemann started at the Fourth Street School and then went to Salem Junior High School for seventh and eighth grade (now the KSU City Center) on South Lincoln Avenue, then the high school on Sixth Street. He played halfback and linebacker on the football team, served on the prom committee his junior year and was a good student.

Kirkland and the board members thanked him for his service to the country. Besides the diploma, he also received a keychain that all graduates receive. Heineman said she was calling the Salem High School Alumni Association, too, so they would have his information.

No more excuses for missing the class reunion, she quipped.

"I just want to express my gratitude to the board of education," he said, also thanking Kirkland and Heineman for all their help. "Thank you all very much."

Klemann has two older sons, and he and Trish have two sons and a daughter. Besides getting his diploma, he and Trish and their son Jacob were using the opportunity to visit with his mom and his brother and family.

His advice to students? Stay in school.

mgreier@salemnews.net