Fighter pilot finds lost Naval Academy ring after 54 years

Michael Zenert discovered the ring while golfing and took the initiative to return it to its rightful owner.

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An 82-year-old American, David Lorenzo, a veteran fighter pilot, has been reunited with his Naval Academy ring after it was lost during a golf outing in 1970.

David Lorenzo, a Class of 1964 graduate, misplaced the ring while golfing with his father at Uniontown Country Club near Pittsburgh.

Recently, Michael Zenert, a 70-year-old golfer, discovered the ring while playing at the same course. Noticing something shiny in the clay after a rain shower near the fourth green, he initially thought it was a beer can tab.

Upon closer inspection, he realised it was a ring and took it upon himself to find its owner.

Image: Pensacola News Journal

 “It survived combat, but it couldn’t survive my golf game,” David Lorenzo remarked.

With the name and Class of 1964 engraved inside, Michael and his wife, Carol, successfully tracked down David after hearing him speak on a podcast. Determined to return the ring, Michael made the trip to Florida rather than risk mailing it.

On Friday, Michael presented the ring to David at the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, where David volunteers and narrates for the Blue Angels' practices and autograph sessions with the elite flight demonstration team.