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The Story Behind This 91-Year-Old's Engagement Ring Found During WWII, 1945

  • Writer: Summer Peoples
    Summer Peoples
  • Aug 28, 2017
  • 4 min read

A few weeks ago, I was sitting on the front porch with my boyfriend, Dominic, and his grandma, Janell. Janell Bowers is without a doubt, one of the most interesting, wise, and beautiful woman I have ever met--and not to mention, she is 91 years old.

Janell has lots of stories to tell, whether it be about the time she actually trained and kept a pet deer and wolf IN HER HOUSE, adopted two children (Dominic's dad & aunt), had two profound "miracles" from God that doctor's still cannot explain, or how she got married within six weeks of meeting her husband...you'll never leave her presence unamused (although you may leave feeling a little lame...I mean c'mon, I have NO cool stories like that).

But out of all of them, one of my favorites continues to be the story behind her engagement ring--a stunning 1 carat, round European cut diamond, that was found in 1945 during World War II's Battle of the Bulge by her soon-to-be husband at the time, Keith Bowers.

A little about Keith...

Keith Bowers was born on September 24, 1921. He was raised in Dora Lake, Minnesota, and enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Snelling, Minnesota on October 23, 1942. Keith drove tank in World War II in General George S. Patton's Third Army as part of the 735th Tank Battalion, Co. A. His unit landed on Utah Beach in Normandy, France on July 15, 1944. The 735th Tank Battalion was the first to head into the Battle of the Bulge with a total of 71 tanks. The 735th was one of just few that received all five campaign awards – Normandy, Northern Franks, Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe. They received accolades for their advance to and through the Siegfried Line, the crossing of the Kyll and Moselle rivers, the capture of Koblenz and their relentless advance deep into Central Germany to the Czechoslovakian border.

Before Janell and Keith met, Keith had found the ring during WWII in Germany after the Battle of the Bulge, in a jewelry store that had been destroyed. "After the battles were over, the soldiers sometimes would walk through towns that were completely destroyed," Janell says. "When they got to the old jewelry store, many soldiers were wading through the rubble, kickin' around. There was some stuff still good, some not...I'm sure some of the other soldiers picked some stuff up too, but Keith happened to reach down and pick up this ring," she said, flashing her hand at me. "I mean, he didn't even know if it was a diamond. He had no way of knowing that, it was so dirty, it could've been a cheap ring or what not."

After stuffing the ring in his pocket and heading back to base, Keith mailed the ring home to his mother, who Janell states, "Had never had a nice ring in her life." She says that when Keith decided to propose to her, he asked his mother for the ring back--who wasn't too happy about it! "I don't think she ever forgave me for taking that ring," Janell chuckled.

Interestingly, when Keith gave Janell the engagement ring, it had an additional ring on the inside to make the ring smaller--and this ring had been engraved on the inside. The words were written in German, and when Janell went to get the ring sized for herself--the jeweler threw the fitted ring away. "I regret it to this day that I never kept it and found out what the engraving said," says Janell. "Who knows, it could've been Hitler's girlfriend's ring!" She joked.

Janell was 19 years old when she married Keith (who was 25 at the time) on March 16, 1946. The two celebrated 65 years of marriage on March 16, 2011, just two days before he died on March 19, 2011.

Just a few years ago, while Janell was walking through a jewelry store in Duluth, a jeweler spotted her ring and asked to see it. After studying it for a very long time under a light, he told her that the ring was cut before the turn of the century. Janell states, "He says to me, 'If someone ever tries to offer you $10,000 for that ring, don't take it.'" She just laughed and said, "If someone ever offers me over $10,000 for this ring, I'll be eating 'carats' instead of wearing them!" (Which, let's be honest--will probably never happen due to the desire for the ring among the girls in the family!)

So next time you find yourself with your grandparents, boyfriend's/girlfriend's grandparents, relatives, etc.... Ask them about their past. I bet they will have a cool story or two, and you might be surprised with what you learn!

For Janell (Stella) Bowers, and in loving memory of Keith Lawrence Bowers

 
 
 

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