Ruth W Crocker places her husband’s ring in the cauldron.

I was honored to attend the ceremony of the Ring Melt at West Point on January 19, 2024. I donated my husband’s West Point Class ring, Class of 1966, which I’ve held onto since he was killed in Vietnam in 1969. Now, the gold in his ring will become part of rings given to the Class of 2025 and all future Class rings. As I said after dropping the ring into the cauldron, “the stone in Dave’s ring was lost long ago during a battle in Vietnam, but the ring has now come home.” A video of the Ring Melt ceremony can be viewed here.