Myrtle's Gift

In the year since dad's death, some unexpected items have turned up around the house as mom sorts through his belongings. Among them are a pair of new-in-the-box river waders, countless pocket knives, and someone's gold crown (as in dental work, not royalty). "What do I DO with all this?" Mom often asks. Most of the pocket knives went as family Christmas presents. The gold crown went for scrap ($21!). The river waders are still up for grabs.

Another strange item was a ring. Mom asked me to look at it. "Have you ever seen this before?" she asked. It was a man's ring with a black Trojan or Roman soldier on it. Not my area of expertise.

"No." I said, "Where did you find it?"

"It was in the safe deposit box. I haven't been in the safe deposit box in decades."

I rolled the ring between my fingers. It felt light, but looked heavy - the discolored band may or may not be gold, and my guess is that the engraved Trojan is hematite. When I flipped it over, I noticed some engraving on the inside. "Oh look!" I exclaimed. "It says MRP to LJU 12-25-45! Aunt Myrtle gave this to Uncle Lloyd for Christmas after the war."

Uncle Lloyd was my dad's uncle. He was the eldest of 5, born on a Lampeter farm in 1910. He joined the army in 1941, and fought with the Allies in Europe. I need to read the yellowed newspaper clippings for the whole story, but Uncle Lloyd was wounded while rescuing other wounded soldiers under German artillery fire in Belgium or France in 1943. He was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his actions. Uncle Lloyd's sister gave birth to a son in 1943, my dad, and named him after her heroic brother.

Uncle Lloyd in Europe during the war, mounted on weaponry. Weiner jokes are timeless.

Uncle Lloyd and Aunt Myrtle in Pennsylvania, date unknown.

Uncle Lloyd and Aunt Myrtle were 36 when they married, and had no children. I don't have any specific memories of Uncle Lloyd, who died in 1981, but I do remember Aunt Myrtle. She was tall, gangly, cheerful and always wearing cat-eye glasses. She outlived her husband by 13 years.

This 60 year old ring - a gift between lovers - has perhaps spent half of its life in a safe deposit box. But this week, I wore it to work. A vintage accessory last worn by a World War II decorated veteran saw the light of day.