AFTER 71 years, three World War II veterans who also happen to be best friends, graduated from high school together last week just in time for Father’s Day.

    The trio of heroes walked across the stage at Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles to collect their long overdue diplomas. Julian Lopez, Tony Romero and Lupe Malacate, all now 90, were drafted in 1944 to serve in World War II, forcing them to drop out of school.

    Not to be outdone was Lopez’s wife, Henrietta, who joined her husband in receiving her high school diploma. Henrietta, 89, married Julian just days before he was deployed to fight in the Pacific. She too was forced to drop out of school because she was prohibited from attending because she was married.

    “Oh, my God, we feel so grateful,” Henrietta Lopez told Fox News Latino about graduating. “I didn’t believe we were going to do this. I still can’t believe we did it. I’m sure there were a lot of young men who were ready to graduate, and they didn’t.”

    According to NBC 4 Los Angeles, which first reported on this story, 110 of their classmates went to serve in World War II, and they are the only three still alive.

    “We’ve known each other since we were kids in grammar school,” Julian told Fox News Latino.

    The three vets have been best friends since then, in fact. The newcomer to the group, Henrietta, met Julian when they were 15 years old in junior high science class.

    “All of this, I guess, was meant to be,” she said. “Julian and I got married on June 11, and he was off to war on June 18, 1944.”

    Julian told NBC 4 before the graduation ceremony, “I’m more nervous than when they drafted me!”

    Julian told Fox News Latino, “Well, I was so proud. I just like helping the country. I’m a proud ex-sailor.”

    The graduation was setup by Julian’s daughter, Connie Miranda, who, through a yearlong process, pushed the Los Angeles United School District to recognize the four as graduates.

    “I’ve heard many stories over the years of him being drafted, and one day I just asked him if he wants to get his diploma,” she told FNL. “He looks at me and says, ‘Yes.’”(SD-Agencies)