"I feel wonderful," said Frank Curcio, who joined the Air Force one month shy of his high school graduation in 1944 and now volunteers at a local hospital. "I can't wait."

After a career working for UPS, Curcio, an 80-year-old Bronx native, recently tried to volunteer with the sheriff's department, but was rejected because he lacked a diploma.

That will change Monday in a ceremony at Dunbar High School, replete with caps, gowns and marching to "Pomp and Circumstance."

The school is honoring men from 13 states who now live in Lee County. All but one is expected to attend; Nelson Clark, a native of Elma, New York, is deceased and will be represented by his daughter, Pamela, school district officials said.

The Florida Legislature recently authorized school districts to award high school diplomas to honorably discharged veterans who were inducted into the armed forces before they could finish school.