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Replies: 21
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CU Guru [1374]
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Last Night
Oct 25, 2013, 11:35 AM
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Last night a very special honor was bestowed upon me. I am now a very proud wearer of the Clemson ring. I have looked forward to receiving this ring ever since my dad took me to my first Clemson football game when I was in elementary school. Go Tigers!
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Oculus Spirit [81628]
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I lost mine December 28th, 2012, in State College, PA, in
Oct 25, 2013, 11:36 AM
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the 2' of snow. Never found.
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Legend [19576]
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Re: I lost mine December 28th, 2012, in State College, PA, in
Oct 28, 2013, 8:23 AM
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Why were you there?
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110%er [5121]
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Congrats, brother. Wear it with pride.***
Oct 25, 2013, 11:42 AM
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Team Captain [493]
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Re: Last Night
Oct 25, 2013, 11:44 AM
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Congrats!!!! Wear it with pride as I have for the past 36 years!
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All-Conference [414]
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Joined: 9/13/12
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Did you go the ring ceremony?
Oct 25, 2013, 11:45 AM
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If so, I hope you heard the story I heard about the man who traded his ring to survive in WWII.
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CU Guru [1374]
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Re: Did you go the ring ceremony?
Oct 25, 2013, 11:55 AM
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I did! That was an amazing story. I tried to go up to the stage and shake his hand after the ceremony, but he was surrounded, and had to leave right before I got to him.
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All-Conference [414]
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It'll be a sad day when he can no longer give that story
Oct 25, 2013, 12:51 PM
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It brought tears to my eyes.
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110%er [9048]
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Joined: 7/1/02
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I'm looking at my ring on my right hand right now.......
Oct 25, 2013, 11:53 AM
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it's not as shiny and new-looking as original but the "77" on the top still reminds me of some of the best days in my life.
"In my day" we had no ring ceremony - just went over to the old bookstore underneath Harcombe dining hall one day during summer school and picked it up - was excited when they told me it had finally come in. Don't remember the price exactly but I know it was a fraction of what they cost these days.
Wear it with pride (and I know you will). You'll be surprised over the years how many people you'll run into all over the country and even all over the world who will recognize your ring and share their connection to Clemson with you.
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CU Guru [1374]
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I'm not sure why my photo won't load.***
Oct 25, 2013, 11:57 AM
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Orange Blooded [4756]
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Re: Last Night
Oct 25, 2013, 12:03 PM
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Awesome and congratulations. Wear it with pride--you will be amazed how many people you run into in random places who have the ring and/or recognize yours.
I wish there had been a ring ceremony when I got mine (around '94); it's a great tradition. I hope to see one in person someday. Not having one hasn't diminished the importance of the ring, though, nor my love for it.
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All-TigerNet [14921]
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Congrats!! I'm sure they told y'all this story at the
Oct 25, 2013, 12:10 PM
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Ring Ceremony but for anyone who hasn't heard Col. Skardon's story:
Personal Sacrifice
During the months that followed the fall of Bataan to Japanese Army Troops [WWII] and the subsequent imprisonment of captured American troops at the large POW camp at Cabanatuan in Central Luzon (the main island of the Philippines), the physical condition of many POWs deteriorated. Hundreds died from lack of sufficient food, medicine and medical care. At this time, I was fortunate to have teamed up with two fellow officers who were Clemson graduates: Henry Leitner ’37 and Otis Morgan ’38.
As conditions worsened, I became a victim of beriberi, malaria, diarrhea, and an eye infection. I had no appetite, and I could hardly swallow. Henry and Otis took turns spoon-feeding me, cleaning my eyes, carrying me piggyback to an open latrine, washing me and carrying me back to our nipa shack.
Most of our personal possessions had disappeared; however, I had managed to keep my Clemson class ring hidden. Otis, who worked on “the farm” as an “in-charge” (an American who could understand enough Japanese to pass on the instructions to the POW work details), let it be known that he knew of a gold ring available for trade to the Japanese for food.
A deal was made, and one evening Otis came in from the farm with a small can of potted ham and a live pullet-sized chicken. Henry borrowed a tin pail, built a fire and boiled the chicken. They fed me hot chicken soup, chicken with rice and rice with chicken. Nothing was left except the bones, which by that time, were gleaming white. They broke the bones and retrieved the marrow with a piece of wire. Nothing edible remained. The little can of potted ham was used to make highly flavored rice-balls. These delectable little nuggets seemed to restore my appetite, and my physical condition improved.
My debt to Henry Leitner and Otis Morgan is heavy – it cannot be repaid. Otis was killed aboard an unmarked ship carrying POWs to Japan. Henry died in early 1945 at a POW camp in Japan. [Skardon was eventually freed from a POW camp in Manchuria after Japan’s surrender.]
Hardly a day goes by that I do not remember the selflessness and the personal sacrifice of Henry and Otis and the role my Clemson class ring played in keeping me alive.
— Colonel Ben Skardon ‘38
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Orange Blooded [2802]
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I was there watching my daughter receive her ring. What
Oct 25, 2013, 12:05 PM
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a great ceremony! Loved hearing Col. Skardon's story and the history of the ring from Dr. Reel - one of my former professors! Congratulations to you and all the ring recipients!
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CU Guru [1374]
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Here's the photo.***
Oct 25, 2013, 12:14 PM
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All-Conference [414]
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Joined: 9/13/12
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They gave me the wrong ring at the ring ceremony
Oct 25, 2013, 12:56 PM
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I received a girl's Delta Kappa Clemson ring. Fortunately, she received mine and we exchanged afterwards. I was so ticked I couldn't wear my ring right away. But it hasn't left my hand since.
I am even allergic to my Clemson ring and it breaks my finger out but I still wear it every day. I feel naked without it. Wear it with pride!
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CU Guru [1374]
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Joined: 12/23/11
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Re: They gave me the wrong ring at the ring ceremony
Oct 25, 2013, 2:30 PM
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Last night was the largest ring ceremony they've ever had. I was told there was about 1,400 students receiving rings. As quickly as they were going through those names, along with no shows, I'd be surprised if there were not a few mix-ups last night.
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All-In [32587]
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My most valued personal, material possession - my Dad's
Oct 25, 2013, 2:50 PM
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CU class ring.
2nd most valuable - mine.
Just a constant, tangible connection to the most amazing place I have ever known.
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Legend [16207]
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Joined: 11/30/98
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My ring will probably be the only thing I...
Oct 25, 2013, 3:25 PM
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...insist on being buried with. I earned it and I'm gonna take it with me to the Orange and Purple party in the sky!
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Orange Blooded [4756]
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Not me - hoping it will become a family heirloom
Oct 28, 2013, 8:20 AM
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I was the first Clemson graduate in my family and I intend to pass my ring to whichever son graduates from Clemson first. (Assuming they go to Clemson. If not I guess I'll pass it on using different criteria.)
I don't intend to be buried with anything on me except my clothes...putting gold in the ground (class ring, wedding ring, etc) to be inaccessible to anyone except for archaeologists 500 years from now seems counterproductive to me  Heck my family can even take out my gold fillings and melt them down if they want. Not going to need them.
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CU Guru [1374]
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Joined: 12/23/11
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It hasn't even been 24 hours and people have already been
Oct 25, 2013, 5:56 PM
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asking me about my ring and talking to me about it.
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Legend [19808]
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The Clemson ring is a special thing. It ties you with many
Oct 25, 2013, 10:22 PM
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other people.
Many people say they feel naked without their ring... mine is so much a part of me I often forget to take it off when I take off all my jewelry after a long day. Hours later I'll realize I still have it on and never even realized it, because it feels like part of me after all these years!
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Head Coach [761]
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Been wearing mine since February 1964
Oct 26, 2013, 10:06 AM
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Congratulations and wear it with pride. That's a significant life achievement. Our class (1964) was the last class to have Clemson A&M College on it. Changed to Clemson University after that.
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Replies: 21
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