World War II veteran from North Bellmore dons cap and gown at 95

For North Bellmore native James “Jimmy” Graziano, receiving his high school diploma was better late than never. It was a surprise, in fact, for his 95th birthday.

Graziano was on track to graduate from Mepham High School in June 1944, at age 18. Like many other young men at the time, however, he was drafted into the Army and served in World War II. He was called up in April of that year, when he was just two months short of completing his high school career.

Graziano would have been the first in his family to do so, but he didn’t regret the “three good meals a day” that the Army provided him, his daughter, Pat Kaniuka, said.

“My dad is a very proud veteran,” she said. “He wears his ‘vet’ hat every day.”

Kaniuka has a close relationship with her father, and has missed him since he moved into Benton House of Port Orange, an assisted-living facility in Florida, two years ago. Now the pandemic strains their relationship further — they’ve seen each other only twice in the past year.

“It was the first Christmas without my father,” said Kaniuka, who now lives in upstate Queensbury.

“Without her,” her father said, “I’m nothing.”

Because of the distance, Kaniuka wanted to plan a special surprise for her father’s 95th birthday. She hatched the idea to get him his diploma, but didn’t know what to expect when she reached out to Mepham High, she said.

She connected with Peggy Schroeder, secretary to Principal Eric Gomez, who was “wonderful” in helping her get a diploma with her father’s name on it, Kaniuka said. The package, which was sent to Florida just in time for Graziano’s birthday on Jan. 18, included other surprises: “A beautiful, original diploma in a portfolio, an original yearbook from 1944 and a cap and gown,” Kaniuka said. “He was so excited.”

“She wanted to do something special, and we thought it was wonderful,” Schroeder said. The school’s historian found the yearbook, she explained, and social studies students wrote birthday cards for Graziano.

“We thought, why not? We’ll make it special,” Gomez said. “We’d do anything to make the alumni feel special — they’re a big part of our community.”

Kaniuka arranged favors, decorations, catered food and a cake to host a party so her father could celebrate with his friends at Benton House. Graziano, who was one of the facility’s first male residents and still full of energy, donned Mepham’s ceremonial maroon cap and gown — from a school that was only nine years old when he was originally set to graduate.

In an interview, Graziano recounted memories from Bellmore during the Great Depression — 10-cent movies and steam trains running on the railroad — and moments during his service in World War II throughout Europe and Japan.

“It was something I had to do,” he said. “It was my duty — I am the Greatest Generation.”