Ring Melt 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." » Full Story