A Long Gray Line Tradition Continues for the Class of 2019

Right from the get-go, the West Point Association of Graduates’ Ring Melt, the signature event of WPOAG’s Class Ring Memorial Program, was meant to be a tradition. Ron Turner ’58 said as much when he proposed the idea of a “Memorial Ring Program” in the May/June 1999 edition of ASSEMBLY magazine, writing, “…we need a 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.” Demonstrating further that he had a long-term “tradition” in mind when he proposed his idea, Turner recommended retaining some gold after each melt so that it shavings could be placed in the following year’s melt, thus ensuring each year’s “Memorial Gold ingot…would contain some of every ring donated.” Having completed its 18th year in 2018 with a record number of rings (69), the Ring Melt tradition is going strong and may one day fulfill Turner’s vision of “a time when West Point rings will be composed entirely of Memorial Gold.”

Only five people—three from the Academy, one from WPAOG, and Turner—were on hand to witness the melting of 29 rings and portions of two others to begin Ring Melt tradition on November 20, 2000 for the Bicentennial Class of 2002. Attendance at the 2018 Ring Melt for the Class of 2019 set a record, included 26 families representing ring donors, five members of the Academy (including Commandant of Cadets BG Steven Gilland ’90), 15 cadets, and nine representatives from WPAOG. With the record number of rings melted this year, the program total to date is now 520 rings. The total includes rings from 10 four-star generals, one Medal of Honor recipient, one member of the National Basketball Hall of Fame, and one ring that has been in space aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. The oldest ring donated during the program’s 18 years belonged to Colonel Percy Myers Kessler, Class of 1896, who fought in the Philippines Insurrection, and the newest ring, from the Class of 1997, came from an anonymous donor. When the Class of 2019 dons their rings in August later this year, the gold on their fingers will have been worn in battles during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, and the War on Terror.

While the above quantifications are impressive, it is the intangibles that define the rings and give their gold meaning to the next generation of the Long Gray Line. “My father always wore his ring,” said Ms. MaryBeth Bainbridge, daughter of Mr. Thomas S. Bainbridge ’57. “Given that his birthstone was a diamond, he even wore his West Point ring as his wedding band, it meant that much to him.”

When placing his father’s ring in the crucible, Samuel H. Johnson ’82, son of COL Charles R. Johnson, told the cadets from the Class of 2019 in attendance, “My father wore this ring proudly since the day he got it, and, if you look closely at the ring, you can no longer see the words, ‘Duty-Honor-Country”; but I believe that is because he willed those concepts into his heart.”

Johnson’s words and the words and presence of the record number of families in attendance were not lost on the members of the Class of 2019. “My perspective on the significance of this event changed when I heard the testimony from the family members of the donors,” said CDT Tony Smith, President of the Class of 2019. “When they placed their loved one’s rings in the crucible, they demonstrated the indelible link that each member of the Long Gray Line shares, and their stories reinforced that these rings represent more than just precious metal; above all these rings signify a long line of commitment to ideas, the ideas of Duty, Honor, Country.”

“As cadets watch this, they start to see where they fall in with the Long Gray Line,” said BG Steven Gilland ’90, “and when they don their rings in August, they will recognize in them what the graduates who have come before have done in exemplifying the values of Duty, Honor, Country.”

COL (R) KC Brown, a member of the Class of 1969, the 50-Year Affiliation Class to the Class of 2019, agrees. “Knowing that there is gold in their rings that dates back more than 100 years will encourage them to stay close to their alma mater and its motto over the years,” he said.

His classmate Michael McGovern, the President of the Class of 1969, said that the Ring Melt has made the rings for the Class of 2019 all the more special. “Compared to our rings, their rings will be special because there is a tangible bond in the metal.” Nine rings, the largest class group in this year’s Ring Melt, came from USMA 1969, which is a record from any one class in a given year.

When Turner proposed the idea of a “Ring Memorial Program” in 1999, he wrote, “Hopefully, this program will make West Point class rings of the future even more meaningful than those of the past.” If the testimony of those who participated in the 2018 Ring Melt is any indication, Turner’s wish has come true 18 times over, and West Point, which invented the concept of a “class ring” in 1835, has reformed a tradition for the next generation.

See photos of the event.

Class of 2019 Ring Memorial Donor Listing