It's taken more than 70 years, but 89-year-old Charlie Ball finally earned his degree from Arkansas Tech University May 12.

Ball first attended the school in 1941 but left to join the war. As the years went by, he never got the chance to finish his studies.

Ball said he made the decision to go back to college and graduate to be an example for his grandkids.

"They thought it was good, and I said the reason I was doing it [was] so that it would get them all enthused, my grandchildren, to get their degrees, too," Ball said.

"We were able to put all that together, and we discovered ... he discovered that it was possible to graduate," Arkansas Tech University President Robert Brown said.

"Everyone knows who he is, and they are all inspired by his story and that he never gave up," Brown added.

One of Ball's high school friends said he was first confused when he got an invitation in the mail for the graduation.

He assumed that it was for one of Ball's grandkids.