Yes, as far as tradition at West Point goes, this one was just started yesterday. Carolm, thank you for your family’s contribution to the Long Gray Line.
When my husband was working as a funeral director he presided over the services of a few academy grads. One family in particular honored the wishes of the deceased by burying the ring with the individual. My husband took great delight in coming home and informing me of this, knowing that I would completely freak out. Which I did. “Didn’t they know about the ring melt program? Didn’t they know about the collection in the library? Didn’t they want to pass it on to future generations, knowing what the ring represents? Now it’s gone forever!” The answers were yes, yes, and no. The ring was such a part of him that the family could not imagine separating the two. Honoring his wish was of course the only proper thing to do. When I think about it now, it kind of warms my heart…..those rings really do mean something important!