Ring Melt for Class of 2023
The West Point Association of Graduates’ Class Ring Memorial Program, more commonly known as “the Ring Melt,” was held in Crest Hall on Friday, January 21, 2022. 71 West Point rings, with the oldest being from the Class of 1909 and the newest being from the Class of 2004, were placed in a stone crucible so that they could be melted down to form a gold ingot bar. The bar was then handed over to a representative of the Herff Jones Ring Company so that the gold it contains can be mixed with new gold to form the class rings for the Class of 2023.
In the 22-year history of the Ring Melt, beginning with the Bicentennial Class of 2002, 740 West Point class rings have been part of the program. After each melt, a small amount of gold, called the “Legacy Gold” has been preserved so that it can be added to the subsequent year’s Ring Melt. Thus, the Class of 2023 will be receiving class rings in August that contain gold from all the donated rings dating back to 1896.
After being a virtual event in 2021, the 2022 Ring Melt featured the highest number of family members and guests attending in the program’s history, and many more streamed the event through WPAOG’s live feed. With 71 class rings donated this year, the program also broke another record, the previous high being 69 rings in 2018. This year was also special because it was the first time that a class ring from a female graduate was donated (anonymously). More facts regarding the 2022 Ring Melt: there were 12 living donors, including one who donated two rings; 11 rings came from the Class of 1973, the 50-Year Affiliation Class of the class of 2023; and one of the rings, that of MAJ Howell H. Jordan Jr. ’57, was the great uncle of Haley Seaward ’23.
When Ron Turner ’58 proposed the idea of a “Ring Memorial Program” in the May/June 1999 edition of ASSEMBLY magazine, he wrote, “Hopefully, this program will make West Point class rings of the future even more meaningful than those of the past.” 22 years later, his vision has become a reality, as the members of the Class of 2023 will soon realize come Ring Weekend in August when they don that “bold mold of [melted] gold” courtesy of WPAOG’s Class Ring Memorial Program.
Class of 2023 Ring Memorial Donor Listing
1909 |
Unknown Owner |
1932 |
COL Nelson L. Head USA, Retired |
1936 |
COL Clarence A. Cozart USA, Retired |
1937 |
LTC Charles T. Clagett USA, Retired |
1940 |
COL Gilford D. Green USA, Retired |
1940 |
COL John R. McLean USA, Retired |
1940 |
Unknown Owner |
1943Jan |
Maj Robert L. Edwards USAF, Retired |
1945 |
Anonymous Donor |
1945 |
LTC James F. Holcomb USA, Retired |
1945 |
COL Arland H. Wagonhurst USA, Retired |
1946 |
COL Edward J. Collins USA, Retired |
1946 |
COL Howard R. Fuller USA, Retired |
1946 |
Lt Col Frederick L. Hafer USAF, Retired |
1946 |
COL Philip D. Haisley USA, Retired |
1946 |
COL Stratis J. Stratis AUS, Retired |
1948 |
COL Francis P. Cancelliere II USA, Retired |
1948 |
Mr. William T. Ryan |
1948 |
Dr. Charles H. Shook Sr. |
1948 |
Maj Gen Henry B. Stelling Jr. USAF, Retired |
1949 |
COL James J. Coghlan Jr. USA, Retired |
1949 |
COL John J. Fatum USA, Retired |
1949 |
COL Duane H. Smith USA, Retired |
1949 |
Lt Col Richard E. Toth USAF, Retired |
1950 |
LTG Charles P. Graham USA, Retired |
1950 |
Lt Col Peter B. Todsen USAF, Retired |
1952 |
LTC Glenn H. Palmer Jr. USA, Retired |
1952 |
COL Arthur E. Taylor Jr. USA, Retired |
1953 |
LTC John P. Angstadt USA, Retired |
1953 |
Mr. Donald J. Hamilla |
1953 |
Mr. Raymond V. Kotowski |
1954 |
COL Charles A. Debelius USA, Retired |
1954 |
LTC Donald C. Porter USA, Retired |
1955 |
COL William W. Brown USA, Retired |
1955 |
Col Paul L. Martin Jr. USAF, Retired |
1956 |
Maj James A. Cook USAF, Retired |
1956 |
COL Frank L. Day USA, Retired |
1956 |
Lt Col William C. McPeek USAF, Retired |
1956 |
COL William L. Weihl USA, Retired |
1957 |
Dr. Francis L. Hanigan |
1957 |
MAJ Howell H. Jordan Jr. USA, Retired |
1958 |
LTC William P. Gillette III USA, Retired |
1958 |
COL Harry J. Hubbard III USA, Retired |
1959 |
LTC Nathaniel F. Colby USA, Retired |
1959 |
Doctor E. J. Eberhard MD |
1959 |
COL Julian E. Weisler II USAR, Retired |
1961 |
Mr. Robert A. McCurdy |
1962 |
BG Nicholas R. Hurst USA, Retired |
1962 |
COL Christopher R. Robbins USA, Retired |
1963 |
Mr. Chris P. Wangsgard |
1965 |
COL Donald E. Appler USA, Retired |
1965 |
Mr. Jon E. King |
1965 |
Mr. Thomas D. MacVicar |
1966 |
MAJ Arthur G. Bonifas USA |
1966 |
COL Richard M. Swain II USA, Retired |
1971 |
Mr. Leon D. Davis |
1972 |
LTC Edward J. Collins Jr. USA, Retired |
1973 |
COL Steven P. Ankley USA, Retired |
1973 |
Anonymous |
1973 |
Mr. Terry A. Bossieux |
1973 |
LTC Michael W. Colbert USAR, Retired |
1973 |
Mr. Nicholas T. Combs |
1973 |
Mr. George W. Everett Jr. |
1973 |
Lt Col Jack L. Kincart USAF, Retired |
1973 |
Lt Col Roland E. Peixotto Jr. USAF |
1973 |
MAJ Paul J. Rana USA, Retired |
1973 |
MAJ Ronald M. Rowley USA, Retired |
1973 |
MG Daniel V. Wright USA, Retired |
1983 |
Mr. Joel V. Liberto |
2004 |
Anonymous |
Legacy Gold
The Legacy Gold sample is extracted each year from the ingot of melted rings. It is added to the melt the following year. In this way, a small amount of precious metal from each of the previously melted class rings is included in the manufacture of the rings for the upcoming class. Click here to read more.
Class Ring Memorial Program - Class Year Archive
Program Founder | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023