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The Last Ring Home

U.S. Navy officer and hero Lieutenant Commander Nathaniel Minter Dial in 1940.
Courtesy of Maryland Public Television
U.S. Navy officer and hero Lieutenant Commander Nathaniel Minter Dial in 1940.

Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 10:30 p.m. on KPBS 2

"The Last Ring Home" is a loving tribute to U.S. Navy officer and hero Lieutenant Commander Nathaniel Minter Dial by his grandson Minter Dial II. After two and a half years of imprisonment by the Japanese in the Philippines, Lt. Commander Dial's dying wish was to have his 1932 Annapolis Naval Academy ring returned to his wife; but the ring never made it home.

Close-up photo of Lt. Dial's 1932 Annapolis Naval ring.
Courtesy of Maryland Public Television
Close-up photo of Lt. Dial's 1932 Annapolis Naval ring.

Eighteen years later, it was then found in the most improbable of circumstances in Korea, only to disappear again in 1967 after it was stolen from the home of Victor Dial (Lt. Commander Dial's son) while he and his wife slept in their suburban Paris home. After 25 years of research and 130 interviews with his grandparents’ peers, Minter Dial II embarks on a remarkable journey to discover more about his grandparents and bring healing to his father. "The Last Ring Home" uncovers the mystery of how the ring was lost and found, and reveals the lasting legacy it had on all those it touched.

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The Last Ring Home

Best Documentary And Best Screenplay at the Southern Shorts Festival 2017

This film is no longer available to stream on PBS, but can be purchased on Amazon Prime Video

Get The Book:

The book - "The Last Ring Home" came out in November 2016 and is now available in hardcover, eBook Kindle) and Audiobook (Audible), with the author as narrator (along with Erin deWard).

Credits:

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Produced by Minter Dial. Distributed by American Public Television. Presented by Maryland Public Television.