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Ring Melt for Class of 2002

Categories: Ring Memorial Program, Grad News
Class Years:

Inaugural Ring Memorial Program

On 20 November 2000, Tony Ferraiuolo, Director, Class Support Program, AOG; Major Fred Rice ’88, Class Advisor to the Class of 2002; Cadet Joe Da Silva, 2002 Class President; Cadet Jackie Lawson, 2002 Chair of the Ring and Crest Committee; and LTC (Ret.) Ron Turner ’58 returned to the Herff Jones company in Prodivence, RI, for the “meltdown.” A total of twenty-nine rings and portions of two others (pictured above) were given and used for the inauguration of the program.

Included was the ring that had been taken into space by Astronaut (Colonel) Bill McArthur ’73 on the 100th NASA mission. Once the stones were removed at the Herff Jones plant we proceeded to Gannon & Scott, Inc., refiners and assayers of precious metals, for the actual meltdown. A small portion of melted gold was drawn from the kiln and provided to me so that it could be mixed with rings donated next year and new gold that will be used to make the rings for the Class of 2003. As we proceed with this program, there will always be a small amount of gold from all rings donated to the program to be passed on to the future classes.

Class of 2002 Ring Memorial Donor Listing

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Ring Memorial Program

In 1999, LTC(R) Ron Turner ’58 submitted an article with the suggestion that “We, as graduates of West Point, should establish a Memorial Class Ring Program… whereby graduates may bequeath (or graduates’ descendants may donate) West Point class rings for the specific purpose of incorporating the gold into the class rings of future graduates.” Turner’s idea became a reality as 31 rings were melted at the Herff Jones company, and the Class of 2002 became the first to receive the gold from this historic undertaking in their rings. A small portion of each year’s gold ingot is preserved and added to the rings that are being melted for the following year’s Ring Melt. The gold shavings are known as the Legacy Gold because it contains gold from every ring that has been donated over the years.

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