An Alameda resident solved the mystery of an old class ring found in a dusty desk drawer on the USS Hornet so the ring could be returned to the deceased owner’s family in Georgia.
Hornet volunteer Mal Sloane found the ring in an area of the ship that had been closed since 1970, according to an ABC-7 News report.
“It could have been someone who served on the ship during service. The only thing we had to go by was that it said Briarcliff High School on it, and it said J-S-R on the inside, so that was something,” Anthony Wilson, Director of Exhibitions, Collections & Aircraft for the Hornet, told ABC.
The Hornet posted a photo of the ring on Instagram in early January, hoping someone would recognize it. The post noted that Briarcliff High School in Atlanta, Georgia, had shut down. “Does anyone have the graduation list or yearbook for the Class of 1966 at Briarcliff?” the post asked. “We would love to reunite the ring with the owner.”
Shortly thereafter, the Hornet again posted about the found ring on Facebook, along with a yearbook photo of Reeves sent by a follower. ABC-7 News saw the posts and reported on the situation.
Alameda resident Greg Helms saw that news report. Well, he heard it from another room, and then replayed it to get the details.
“I hear them start talking about something on the USS Hornet. I live in Alameda, I know the Hornet and so I kind of listened,” Helms later told ABC. “They said they found a high school ring from Briarcliff High School. And I stepped out of the bathroom and went back to the TV, got the remote control, backed it up and played it again.”
Briarcliff High School is Helms’ alma mater, so he was intrigued.
He went to an alumni group on Facebook to see if anybody had any clues. “I think three people that were actually from the class of 1966 knew Jon Scott Reeves, Helms told ABC. One of those classmates had posted part of an obituary saying Reeves had died in 2008.
Helms went on with his search. He later told ABC he has a strong connection to both his high school alma mater and the USS Hornet—his father was decommissioned from the Navy in Alameda back in 1955. “I just felt I could help out with this and that I had some resources to at least start a conversation with some people to see if it went anywhere,” he said.
He turned to Google and ultimately tracked down Jon Scott Reeves and his brother. The mystery was solved. Jon Scott Reeves was an aviation maintenance person who would have worked in the area where the ring was found, according to Wilson. “It really all makes sense now,” Wilson told ABC.
And here’s the happy ending. The USS Hornet is now working out the details with Jon Scott Reeve’s brother to return the long-lost ring.
