(U.S. Air Force photo/LouAnne Sledge) Phyllis Hivner places the original wedding band on the left ring finger of retired Col. James Hivner Nov. 11, 2009, at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas. It was the first time the colonel had seen, or worn, the ring since Oct. 5, 1965, when he was shot down and captured in North Vietnam and the ring was taken. The colonel's ring was found recently and eventually passed to retired Navy Cmdr. Rick Tolley who searched for its owner until he found Colonel Hivner.
Vietnam POW Has Wedding Ring Returned
Delicious Reddit

NOVEMBER 12, 2009
David Johnson, Citizen Journalists

Retired Air Force Colonel James Hivner’s F-4 Phantom was shot down in Vietnam 44 years ago . Once captured, the Viet Cong stripped him of all personal items, including his wedding ring. For the next seven and-a-half years as a prisoner of war Hivner says his faith and thoughts of his family kept him hopeful.
"Before I went to sleep I tried to pray, and in the morning, because we were about 12 hours apart, and I'd be thinking 'When I'm going to bed they're just getting up.'"
He was released in 1973, but he had to leave his wedding ring and dog tag behind. He never expected to see the items again, but last month was notified by the Air Force they had been retrieved. On Wednesday at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas, Hivner was given his wedding ring, and it still fit! "This is just a great day for me, for my wife, for my family… This ring made a full circle, from here to Vietnam, and eventually back.”
Hivner's wife Phyllis was especially grateful, "I truly thank you so, so much for this. You've just blown my mind with this."
For more on this story, check out this link: cbs11tv.com/local/James.hivner.Wedding.2.1307041
Read a related story on HappyNews:
Ring Returned to Vietnam POW 44 Years After Imprisonment