Over the weekend, Mill Creek High School in Gwinnett County, Georgia held a graduation ceremony -- caps, gowns, pomp and circumstance -- over half a year early. For one student. Seems like only a minor hassle to fulfill a dying father's wish: School grants dying father's wish.
Tony Tran is battling terminal liver cancer. According to doctors, he doesn't have much longer to live, and most likely not long enough to see his son David graduate from his school. With Mill Creek's graduation not scheduled until next May, school administrators made a touching exception for the Tran family:
Tran served the U.S. embassy there during the Vietnam War, was a former soldier, and was held as a prisoner of war for six years before bringing his family to the United States. After everything he's been through and the life he's lived, it seems like a small gesture to help a man see his son graduate.David Tran learned right before school started that his dad, a former soldier and POW in Vietnam for six years, has terminal liver cancer and only a month or two to live.
"He's a strong guy. He just works really hard and someone I look up to,"David Tran said.
His sister Kim contacted the school and told them the story, and administrators broke out the caps and gowns.
It was a complete surprise to Tony Tran.
"Very, very happy..." he said.
David Tran thought it was only going to be football teammates and a few friends in attendance, not a packed auditorium.
"I was shocked. I was so nervous," said David Tran.
It may not have been the real thing, but there were real emotions.
Dammit, who is chopping onions up in here?