101-year-old WWII veteran, a navigator on a B-17 bomber, got a new class ring last week in Alton ILL, after trading his original Class of '41 ring, for sardines in POW camp

Captured on German soil, after his plane was shot own on it's 5th mission, Ryan endured the remainder of the war as a prisoner, where hunger became a dangerous enemy. One day, an opportunity for an unusual trade presented itself at the fence line.

"There was a Russian there on the other side of the barbed wire, and he had a can of sardines, and I was hungry," Ryan said.

So Ryan traded his class ring for a tin of sardines — a moment when necessity outweighed nostalgia.

"It wasn't doing me any good," he said matter-of-factly.

The surprise ceremony, kept secret even from Ryan himself, culminated in the presentation of a new Marquette class ring — a golden circle linking past and present.

For the students, history stepped from the pages of a book into real life.

"To see someone who went to the same school as you, who walked these halls and made this big of a sacrifice ... it makes you feel a sense of pride," said senior Carson Morrisey.

https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/making-a-difference/101-year-old-ww2-veteran-receives-replacement-for-ring-he-traded-for-food-in-german-pow-camp/63-c4e39439-fcd1-4e13-ba8d-727b3726a12a