1984 Greensburg Salem grad’s class ring, found on Calif. beach, now headed home
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David Henry’s 1984 Greensburg Salem High School class ring is now also his lucky ring.
Thirty-four years after losing it in the Pacific Ocean, Henry will soon be reunited with the white gold band.
“It totally blew my mind,” Henry said, describing his reaction upon learning Wednesday that the ring had been found.
A treasure hunter from San Diego found the ring on Tuesday while metal detecting in the area of Ski Beach, Calif. He posted pictures to the Facebook group Class Rings Lost & Found on Wednesday, and it didn’t take long for word to get back to Henry, 53.
“I found out yesterday at lunchtime. Half my (graduating) class was messaging me, saying, ‘Is this you?’ ” he said. “Somebody else saw it, and they shared it on Facebook and it came up on my feed. I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s my ring.’ ”
Henry, a Delmont native who lives in Mineral Springs, Clearfield County, said he messaged the treasure hunter, Rob Burnett, on Thursday and was assured the ring would be returned.
Burnett, 44, of Chula Vista, Calif., said the class ring was one of three rings he found on Tuesday using a Minelab Equinox 600 metal detector — and one of two class rings he has returned to the rightful owner in the past month.
“If I find something that’s really of sentimental value, I want to give it back to the person who lost it instead of scrapping it for the gold content,” Burnett said, noting he usually waits six to 12 months before scrapping the item.
Burnett said Henry’s ring was “a couple inches down” and likely had been dredged up in the Mission Bay area. He took the ring home and cleaned it with sandpaper. A video of the find will be posted to his YouTube channel at 4 p.m. Friday PST.
Henry was able to identify the ring through its distinctive characteristics. It has a red stone and the words Greensburg Salem on top, the year 1984 and a football player on one side, and the Golden Lions insignia on the other side.
Although Henry did not play football for Greensburg Salem, he played for a Salem Township community league.
Inside the ring were the initials DCH, for David Charles Henry, removing any doubt the ring was his.
Henry’s parents bought him the ring for his 1984 graduation. He enlisted in the Navy and was sent to San Diego for basic training.
He was wearing the ring the night he lost it. It was 1985, and he and some friends had gone to a USO dance. Afterward, they decided to go to Mission Beach for a party.
“We were swimming around, and all of a sudden I looked at my hand and it was gone. I guess the colder water made my hand shrink,” he said. “I knew as soon as I came out of the water that I lost it.”
Henry said he was upset at the loss — he had only had the ring for a year — but eventually accepted the fact that he’d never see it again.
He spent four years in the Navy, serving on the USS Long Beach, and then moved to Florida before eventually returning to Pennsylvania.
Henry said he’s grateful Burnett posted pictures of the ring on Facebook and was willing to ship it 2,500 miles. He’s going to have the ring cleaned and polished so he can wear it again.
“That ring has got to be as lucky as heck for it to find its way back to me,” he said.