Program Origin

In 1999, LTC (Ret.) Ron Turner ’58 submitted an article to Assembly magazine that contained the following suggestion: “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.” In November of 2000, Turner’s idea became a reality as 31 rings were melted at the Herff Jones company in Providence, RI, and the Class of 2002 became the first to receive the gold from this historic undertaking in their rings. By 2017, a total of 451 rings have been donated to the Memorial Class Ring Program allowing a tangible and symbolic link within the Long Gray Line to continue in future West Point class rings. More details concerning the Ring Melt program are available on the AOG website.

The Class of 2015's Ring Melt

The ring melt for the Class of 2015 was the 14th such ceremony since the beginning in 2001. The contemporary report of this event is detailed in the Class of 2015' Affiliation Activities with pictures of the events and biographies of the five rings donated for this melt.

Current Status for the Class of 1965

As of January 2018 a total of nine rings and a piece of one (Joe Sanchez) have been donated to the Ring Melt. There are two additional classmates who are donating their rings in their wills. The list below shows the rings donated and the ring melt they entered into the Long Gray Line.