Veteran gets ring back after woman finds it in bag of grapes

SOUTH FORT MYERS, Fla. A 92-year-old World War II veteran is reunited with a ring he lost in a bag of red, seedless grapes at Publix.

“I was reaching down to get a good stock of them, you know, and being on my little finger, you can see that it comes off,” said Ralph “Speedy” Spear, explaining how he lost the treasured piece of jewelry.

Tracey Digiacomo made the discovery this weekend in a bag of grapes she bought at the store on Gladiolus and San Carlos Boulevard.

She gave the ring back to Spear, who recognized it when Digiacomo told her story on WINK News.

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“All of a sudden, the ring popped up — they put it up on the screen where it was really big, and it said Coast Guard,” Spear said. “And I said, ‘Wait a minute, that’s my ring!'”

Spear got the ring to commemorate his service in the Coast Guard, but it also served another purpose. It was once a proxy for the engagement ring he gave his wife before they were married 68 years ago.

“I wanted tie her down from other boyfriends, I guess you can say,” Spear said. “Anyway, she wore the ring for a long time until I gave her an engagement ring.”

Spear said he’ll make sure he doesn’t lose it again.

“This is one ring I really value,” he said. “I’ve got a diamond ring, I’ve got other kinds of rings, but I like to wear this one.”

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