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Seized ring returned to former Vietnam POW

On Wednesday, retired Air Force Col. James Hivner wore his wedding ring for the first time since Oct. 5, 1965, when he was shot down while flying a mission over North Vietnam.

The ring was taken away by the enemy along with his other possessions, and he was held as a prisoner of war for more than seven years.

After Hivner was freed, he and his wife, Phyllis, bought a new wedding ring and went on with their lives. But recently, James Hivner was contacted by Rick Tolley, a retired Navy commander whose former son-in-law had been given the ring by a retired Vietnamese soldier.

Hivner received the ring in a ceremony at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas. He knew it was the real thing when he saw the engraving inside — his wife’s initials and the date they were married.

Hivner said the ring symbolizes his never-ending love for his wife.

“It’s very special to me,” he said before the ceremony. “I’m anxious ... to look inside there with my tired old eyes and see the inscription.”