In most ways he is no different than his fellow police cadets, as they stand for inspection on this cool fall morning before graduating from Delta College’s POST Academy.

The crisp duty uniforms. The white gloves. The marching, the commands, the precision.

And invisible, but more important than any of those things, the keen desire to serve.

But there is no denying that John Myers stands out from his peers in one clear way: his white hair, combed neatly above a face that crinkles when he smiles.

Inspection of the graduating cadets

At 77 years old, Myers is the oldest graduate in the history of Delta’s POST Academy, and likely one of the oldest ever in the state of California.

He is three decades older than the very program from which he is graduating.

And yes, before you ask, he fully intends to work as a sworn law enforcement officer, no different than any other cop (though for now he is seeking only a part-time position).

“I’m elated, happy, relieved,” he says afterward. “It’s a childhood dream come true.”

The questions come quickly: How did he endure the physical demands of training? Is he ready for the rigor of a career in law enforcement?

And most of all, why? Why would a man who had been a successful lawyer and law professor for more than 40 years choose to spend his golden years as a cop?

It’s pretty simple: Because he wants to.

After high school Myers became a Navy medic. He served on a ship off the coast of Vietnam, caring for injured Marines.

He worked his way through college at the University of Utah by driving an ambulance, then began his career as a lawyer specializing in children and poor families. He became an advocate for abused children, writing 21 books and giving 400 speeches all over the world.

He taught martial arts and drove race cars and did who knows what else. But all the while, somewhere deep inside of him, there was one more thing he wanted to do: to serve as a law enforcement officer, which Myers considers one of the highest professional callings.

“I thought, why not give POST Academy a try?” he says.

John Myers served as class leader for POST Academy graduating class 57-24

For Myers, this commitment meant grinding through 18-hour days. He’d get up at 5 a.m., drive from his home in Davis to San Francisco where he still teaches criminal law in the mornings, then head to Stockton for the late-afternoon and evening police academy. He wouldn’t get home until around 11 p.m. each night.

On top of that exhausting schedule were the physical demands of training. Toe-to-toe with cadets a half century younger than he is, Myers pulled himself over 6-foot walls, dragged 160-pound dummies, dashed through obstacle courses, and wrestled combative “suspects” to the ground.

“The mentality at my age was, ‘I hope I can make it,’” he says. “I was lucky and it was sort of by the skin of my teeth on some of those physical requirements.”

But here he is, on graduation day, picked to be class leader, sitting in the front row and leading cadets in reciting the code of ethics.

“Class dismissed!” Myers barks one last time.

Outside he mingles with family, friends, fellow cadets and, yes, news reporters who pepper him with questions.

His son, Willie Myers, never doubted that his dad would make it. Father and son trained together, hitting pads in the garage.

“I spent a lifetime in martial arts and I’m in the gym all the time,” Willie Myers says. “I know he can outwork most of the guys in the gym.”

John Myers celebrates with his son, Willie

Myers’ own reflection is simple, as he awaits news on a potential part-time job offer allowing him to work as a university cop while still teaching law.

“There are many opportunities to do things that you didn’t think you might be able to do, so get up, get off the couch, go out and do it,” he says.

The only question left is whether this is really the last box for him to check, the end of his bucket list of accomplishments. But his son seems doubtful, as he says with an expectant smile:

“I can’t wait to see what he does in his 80s.”