Schools have different approaches
to how a ring is done.
The MIT ring has the year, it has MIT,
and it has the initials in a very, very fancy cursive
format.
So, it's very difficult to figure out
who a ring belongs to simply by looking at it.
A little over a month ago, I received an email
from a woman named Becky Adam's, who's down in Virginia, talking
about a ring, a Brass Rat, an MIT ring that she had.
And she thought it was from the class of 1967.
It turns out, it may not be.
But that's part of the mystery we're trying to unravel.
When I received the email about the ring
being found, or being returned to MIT,
my first thought was what were the circumstances by which
the ring would be returned with the effects of one soldier who
was not actually the owner of the ring,
and I think there are a couple of observations I would make.
The first is that 1968 was probably the most intensely
chaotic time in the war.
It would become worse perhaps, but it certainly
was the worst up to that period.
So it is possible that one could be
in possession of somebody else's ring, or other items, simply
because of the chaos of the environment at the time.
It could also be the case that soldiers
left their possessions in the hands of people who perhaps
were most stable, who were not as much on the move
as they were, close friends.
And it's possible that the ring could have been caught up
in the affects of somebody else actually
collecting the facts of a person after they die.
That is, they don't quite know who owns what,
and the ring doesn't give much of a clue.
Apparently, she must have had the ring for well over 40 years
and finally she must have been going through her artifacts
and found it again, and cause her to write.
And just recently, I got it from her in this package.
Class ring, this is what the note says,
class ring, returned with effects of Steven Adams who
died in Vietnam, March 1968.
So, I served in Vietnam as a lieutenant
in the Army Corps of Engineers.
I spent my first year stateside in training, and then
at my first stateside post and then in October
of 1970 headed to Vietnam.
When you entered in country you spent
your first three days at a place called the Long Binh
replacement depot.
You're in a tent city with 10,000 other soldiers.
And after that three days you'd get your orders,
and you'd be sent off to your post in Vietnam
with basically the new clothing that they'd issued you,
and the few things that they told you should bring along
with you when you came.
So most guys arrived with relatively few personal items.
My name is Peg Mead, I'm the college territory manager
for New England, for Balfour.
Balfour has worked with MIT and the Brass Rat
since the early 30s.
Recently, I was asked to take a look at this ring that
was returned with the effects of Steven Adams, who
had died in the Vietnam War.
The ring was produced by John Roberts Company, which
eventually was purchased by ArtCarved, which eventually
was purchased by Balfour.
I could tell by looking at the ring
that it's hardly been worn.
So, the person who originally owned this ring probably
only had it for a fairly short time.
Unfortunately, there's no year in it.
The degree letters SM, for Master of Science
are on the side, and it does have hand engraving
on the inside which is JTM.
Looking at the John Roberts logo,
and the hand engraving, and also the style of the ring,
leads me to believe that this ring was probably produced
sometime in the mid '60s.
That would have been after John Roberts had changed the method
of manufacturing class rings.
Most class rings up until that point
were made through a dye struck process.
Essentially, a piece of gold was laid over a dye
and a big weight came down and whacked it into the dye
and then it was cut out.
John Roberts actually pioneered the lost wax casting method,
which allowed for a lot greater detail.
And I can tell that from the detail in the beavers fur,
it's very clear on this and that would not
have been the case with a dye struck ring.
Well, the ring might have ended up in his hands,
the fellow could have been a friend of his,
might have been in the same unit,
it might have been with a collection of stuff
that he inherited from the guy in the bunk next door.
It could have come to him in many ways.
But the fact that he held onto it,
and had maybe some significance to him,
suggest to me that he might have known the person.
People who wear this ring, when they lose it,
feel that they are missing a part of themselves.
They are missing a part of themselves
that identifies them as an MIT grad,
and frequently ask how quickly they can
get a replacement for the ring.
I know that this ring would mean an enormous amount
to the person who lost it.
Especially, as his original ring,
possibly he's had a replacement and if he is no longer alive,
it will mean a lot to his heirs and family
to receive this ring.
The other thing that we could offer to the family,
if in fact their son died, or their father, uncle,
whatever that we will have his name engraved in building 10,
underneath the great dome at MIT.
And there's an honor there as well.
We're making this video because we were asking help
from our alumni and friends.
Help that would allow us to return
this ring to its rightful owner or their family.
I appreciate your attention to this,
and look forward to any information you have.