ALTON - As a World War II Prisoner of War, Alton native Robert Ryan traded his Marquette Catholic High School class ring for a can of sardines. Now, he has a new ring and a community that has rallied behind him.
On April 23, 2025, community members gathered at Marquette Catholic High School for a ceremony honoring Ryan for his heroism during WWII. MCHS Principal Tim Harmon and U.S. Army Lieutenant General Jered P. Helwig presented Ryan with a new class ring and thanked him for his service during the war and in the Alton community.
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“Number one, it’s quite a surprise. Number two, it’s an honor I don’t deserve,” Ryan said. “All any of us did was what we had to do.”
Harmon explained that a WWII researcher connected with Ryan a few months ago. When the researcher learned that Ryan traded his class ring for food, he cold-called the school and informed them of the story.
MCHS staff members Blake Marth, Paula Mattix-Wand and Robert Stephan worked with Jostens to create a new Class of 1941 ring, which Jostens donated. They then contacted Ryan’s family and organized the ceremony on April 23.
Prior to the ceremony, Ryan did not know there would be a special honor for him. He said it was “very much” a surprise, and he emphasized the importance of sharing the experience with his family and current Marquette students. He said he hoped they would remember to respect veterans.
Harmon, who was trained as a history teacher, noted it was exciting to bring “living history” to the students.
“This was an opportunity for us to get to do something that touched my heart personally and made me feel really good about getting to honor a Marquette graduate, but then also having a veteran here and to honor not just him, but his entire family,” Harmon said. “It was a cool moment, and to get the kids to be able to see it — I never saw anything like this growing up, and I don’t think they’ll ever see anything like this again in their lives.”
The Joint Service Color Guard of USTRANSCOM performed the posting of the colors and presented Ryan with a folded flag after the ceremony. Ryan expressed his appreciation for the flag, connecting it to the liberation of his prison camp in WWII.
“This flag is important because when the prison camp was liberated, one of the more emotional events was rolling down the swastika flag and raising the American flag,” he explained. “It’s very important.”
Ryan, now 101, still works as an attorney in Alton. A piece of the Berlin Wall sits on his desk, as does a model of the B-17 plane he flew in that was shot down during WWII.
As the ceremony concluded, Ryan examined his new class ring and noted his excitement to wear it.
“The original ring was worth a can of sardines,” he joked. “This one is probably worth more. Maybe two cans.”
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