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Family Tradition Shines at West Point Ring Melting Ceremony |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 04 March 2006 |
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The Long Gray Line Continues As Rhode Island Refinery Melts Rings Of 12 West Point Graduates To Be Used For Class of 2007 Rings
WARWICK, R.I., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Twelve West Point Class Rings will be donated on Monday, March 6 at the U.S. Military Academy's 6th annual Ring Melting Ceremony at Rhode Island refinery Pease & Curren. The rings will be melted into a gold bar, which will be used in the rings for West Point's Class of 2007. Each new ring will contain particles from the rings of the twelve West Point officers, creating a physical link between generations of graduates.
Family is an important theme at the event as more than 40 family members, graduates and cadets will gather for the ceremony. Some, like the Burhans family of Woodstock, NY, will travel en masse to donate the rings of their loved ones. Eight members of this family will join together to honor Lieutenant Colonel Edmund Burhans II, their husband, father and grandfather.
Others, like Colonel John DiGrazia, a thirty-year veteran of the Army, will travel across the country so his ring will continue down the long gray line. But for this 78-year-old Nevada resident, this journey is especially personal. His nephew, Cadet Sergeant Daniel Fisher is a member of the Class of 2007. Upon graduation, Cadet Fisher's own ring will contain a piece of his uncle's.
Debbie Drum English also has a family story to tell. Her father, Colonel James Hunter Drum, was one of many Drum family members to serve in the army.
"I didn't want my father's ring sitting around in a jewelry box, found every so often," said English. "By donating the ring, my father will always be a part of the corps of cadets. I know he would be proud of that."
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The event will be held at Pease & Curren, a Warwick, RI precious metals refinery that has hosted the event for the past 5 years. The company's involvement originally began at the suggestion of the company's vice president
of sales, Keith Edwards (USMA class of 1985).
"West Point has a long-standing history of tradition and excellence, values we try and emulate in our company," said Meredith Curren, a third generation owner and CEO of Pease & Curren. "So when Keith brought up the idea, we were thrilled to be able to help out."
"As a family-owned company in its 90th year of business, tradition has always been important to us," Curren added "We are honored to be able to help continue the legacy of West Point's Long Gray Line."
Story here
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Last Updated ( Monday, 06 March 2006 )
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