The following is from the Gulf Breeze, Fl newspaper (The Sentinel)(by Bobbi Haycox) Ken Later of Nashville, Teen. Had an early Christmas miracle this year, thanks to Warren Lynn. My name is Warren Lynn Brown. It is because of Lynn's effort and creative detective work that Lauer now wears his 1966 Texas A&M college ring lost in 1967 while serving in Vietnam. I never knew whether it was stolen or if it simply slipped off my finger during some of the action we saw," he said. Later served on a LST in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam during the war, furnishing Army ground troops with ammunition and the supplies. There was times when he got little sleep, and ate one 72 hour stint, he discovered the ring gone. To say it was a devastating loss might be an understatement for even Later had only owned the ring for a year, there was a special sentimental attachment to it. "My motherhood the diamond from her original engagement ring mounted in my class ring before giving it to me," Lauer said, and so it was very special to me and I hated to tell her I lost it. I thought of the ring many times over the next few years, hoping that someone might find it and return it," he said. But as time passed, he thought of the ring less and less, until Tuesday night, Oct 19, of this year.[1999] I had a dream that night in which I wondered if the ring would ever return to me. There was no-one in the dream, just a clear picture of the ring and a sense that something was happening," he said. He awoke thinking how odd it was to think about the ring later all these years but dismissed the possibility of its return. A week later, Lauer received a phone call that was to change the whole ring situation. For on the other end of the phone was the Ring Department of Texas A&M and the information relayed to Lauer brought hope that a real miracle might be in his immediate future. It is really strange that I would think about the ring after so much time," Lauer said referring to the dream, ' And just a few days later, to get a phone call about it. And now for the rest of the story. Warren Lynn is a retired military man (USAF), a former policeman and now the irrigation specialist at Tiger Point Country Club. He has been searching for treasure for more than a decade and has accumulated some special treasures to prove it. In October, about the time of Lauer's dream, warren lynn was out in the Gulf, in chest-high water in front of the Best Western Motel at Pensacola Beach. "That day I found the A&M ring, wedding band, a silver ring and several quarters," he said. I tried cleaning the A&M ring so that I could read the inscription on the inside and the details the outside the ring, Warren Lynn said. He described the ring as very corroded and dark coloured. You could tell there was gold in the ring, but the etched areas were packed with corrosion," he said. In trying to remove some of the barnacles, he dislodged the diamond from its mounting. His friend, Cathy took it to Bere' Jewellers in Gulf Breeze. They were really nice," Warren Lynn said, referring to both Kenny Harmon and the jeweller, Ken Folmar."The jeweller explained that it was odd to see a diamond cut in a 1920 style mounted in a 1966 ring,' he said. "They also helped clean it enough that we could read the inscription on the inside of the ring. That enabled Brown to take the next step in finding its owner. Later Bere's also gave him a box to ship the ring. In response to the phone call from Texas A&M, Lauer called Lynn immediately. A game of telephone tag ensued until the two men finally talked later the evening. “I described the ring to Warren, hoping the diamond was still there," said Lauer. "To my relief and surprise, Warren informed me that the diamond was still there. He told me how special the ring was because of his mother's diamond, and it hurt to tell him I had dis lodged the diamond while trying to clean the ring," said warren. The next day, Warren shipped the ring overnight express and insured it, taping the diamond in place in its triangular setting. On October 30 of this year, Lauer was again possession of the ring he had lost 32 years ago, in Viet Nam. Today, Lauer wears it with pride and appreciation for the one who found it. It is a constant reminder one man's goodness and integrity. He went out of his way to try to find me and yet would not accept any compensation either for the ring or for his efforts in my behalf," said Lauer. The ring I am looking at right now looks brand new. What an unexpected joy," he wrote to The Sentinel. "I am not talking about the ring; I am talking about Warren Lynn and the gift of his kindness. It took a special effort to make this come true for me and I will always be grateful. This is an old article in which I sent to you with the detector when I was getting new headphones installed. When I ask about the article the guy that unpacked the detector threw it away with the packing. So when I ordered my new Minicab Excalibur ll, I told the guy about the article and he said I should submit it again. Thank you for such great products!!!
Warren Brown – Florida, USA