It all started at a golf course. And Sally Jameson Bond isn't even a golfer. An Iowa native now living on the east coast, Jameson Bond found herself in the middle of a story 16 years in the making all thanks to a few good Samaritans and an organization that never gave up.
Jameson Bond herself is no stranger to a good story — she's a historical fiction author who has penned two books and has a website to promote her work. It all started there when an email from a woman named Heidi landed in her inbox on July 30, explaining a World War II naval aviator ring had been found at the John Deere Classic in 2016. The ring had the initials DWJ and years 1942-46 carved on the inside.
The email sender said someone previously tagged Jameson Bond in a Facebook post about the lost ring, and they were wondering if it belonged to her father. Jameson Bond felt confident the ring was not her father's but decided to ask her four siblings anyway. As it turns out her youngest brother, Chris Johnson, knew something about it.
A photo of Donald W. Johnson sits next to a ring box holding his naval aviation ring from his service in Word War II. The family heirloom was lost at the John Deere Classic in Silvis 16 years ago and recently reunited with its owner.
CONTRIBUTED "When I sent the email to my siblings, Chris got right back to me and said, 'Let me tell you the history,'" she said. "And the way it happened, it's just astounding." In the late 1990s, Johnson was given his father's original naval av.