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 aviator ring.
It was silver with a black onyx stone in the center and his father's initials, DWJ, along with the dates 1942-46 stamped on the inside. It was too big for his finger, so Johnson had the ring resized and wore it occasionally, despite it being a little loose on his finger. In March 2000, that loose ring slipped off his finger while celebrating his 40th birthday in Cape Cod.
Heartbroken, he confessed to his father he lost the ring, but the pair quickly came up with a solution. They would order a new one from Jostens, almost identical to the original, except this one was to have an amethyst stone instead — their father's birthstone. Donald W.
Johnson's World War II naval aviation ring was lost at the John Deere Classic in Silvis in 2008. Now 16 years later it has returned home. CONTRIBUTED Johnson received his new ring shortly after his father's death in December 2007.
Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts Again, he had it resized. And again, it was loose. And once again, the following July, he lost it.
On that hot summer day in 2008, Johnson was attending the John Deere Classic golf tournament in Silvis. He was somewhere around the 10th green when it slipped off his finger, he thinks. It wasn't until much later he noticed it was missing.
Once again, Johnson was heartbroken and had to confess to his father he'd lost it again. Except this time the confession took place at Shaul Cemetery in Ottumwa. Life went on for the Johnson family, and little was spoken about it.
The golf tournament continued through the years and on another hot summer, eight years later, a ring was found on the course. Donald W. Johnson's World War II naval aviation ring was lost at the John Deere Classic in Silvis in 2008.
In 2016 the ring was found and spent the next eight years in lost and found. CONTRIBUTED It had an amethyst stone and the initials DWJ and dates 1942-46 stamped inside. The ring that spent eight years on the course then spent another eight years in the John Deere Classic lost and found.
It was nearly sent to Texas after officials thought they found the owner there. Heidi, the helpful volunteer from the original email, called Jostens and tracked down the re-order of the ring. The company shared the receipt with Heidi, who in turn shared it with Jameson Bond.
"That was pretty much proof positive," she said. Earlier this week Jameson Bond received a call from Andrew Lehman, director of the John Deere Classic, who was happy to return the ring, she said. It arrived in an official John Deere Classic ring box and is safe with her.
“When I finally got it and I sent (her brother) the pic of it he said, ‘That’s it!!'" Jameson Bond recalled with a laugh. "It's safe and sound. And it's so beautiful.
" The Quad-Cities' premier golf tournament, the John Deere Classic uses the slogan "magic happens here." As it turns out, in this case, it really did. Sixteen years worth.
.
