Magnum Mania!

The Team Ring

The Team Ring

Magnum's Team

The gold and black "Team Ring" that Magnum, T.C. and Rick wear is a Vietnam War memento that symbolizes the tight bond of wartime camaraderie that they all shared together. The ring is not an official military decoration or emblem, and is not used in any capacity in the U.S. Navy SEALs or U.S. Marine Corp.

The dominant motif of the ring is a "double cross", the Cross of Lorraine. The Cross of Lorraine is primarily identified as a French resistance symbol, but it's also used for many other purposes. The Cross was originally used by Joan of Arc in the fifteenth century. The double cross insignia was later used by the U.S. Army 79th Infantry Division in WWI and WWII, as well as the Free French Forces (in WWII).

The ring was worn by all members of Magnum's "Vietnam Team", a multi-service joint task force (MACV-SOG) unit, comprised of Magnum (U.S. Navy SEAL, Special Ops), T.C. (U.S. Marine Huey Pilot with the VMO-2 unit, based out of Da Nang), Rick (U.S. Marine Door Gunner with the VMO-2 unit, based out of Da Nang), Dan Cook (U.S. Navy SEAL, Special Ops), and Phillipe Trusseau and Pepe, two French Paratroopers. Additionally, Magnum's wife Michelle, who was in Vietnam during the war, also has a Cross of Lorraine pendant which she wears on a necklace. She was involved in unspecified clandestine espionage operations for the anti-Communist forces.

Pendant

Cross of Lorriane

The ring's backstory is never really discussed in the show. There is a flashback scene in the beginning of "Memories Are Forever (1)" (2.5) which shows Rick and T.C. on a Saigon street corner briefly looking at a tattoo flash of the Cross of Lorraine. Rick and T.C. already have their rings at this point and Michelle soon appears wearing her Cross of Lorraine pendant. We see the rings in other Vietnam flashbacks also, so we know they were made for the team at some point during that time. We don't know why they chose the "double cross" symbol, but it is a logical choice for several reasons - (1) It's a military resistance symbol, (2) Two members of VM02 were French, Michelle was French, (3) T.C. is from New Orleans, a city with a rich French history, (4) A similiar ring was used in Rick's favorite movie Casablanca (1942).

There were actually two different types of rings shown in the show. In the "Pilot Movie", the top of the ring, the bezel, was curved inward [first picture, top left]. In all other episodes, the bezel is flat. A minor difference which, nonetheless, does change the overall look and feel of the ring.

The "Team Ring", and it's use within Magnum P.I., was created by series co-creator/executive producer Donald P. Bellisario, who is a former U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant.

Manetti w/ Ring

Sterling Silver

One of the rings used in the show is on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., along with Magnum's Detroit Tigers baseball cap and iconic red "Jungle Bird" hawaiian shirt!

An excellent replica of the ring can be found here. A wonderful sterling silver model can be found here (by J.R. Design). The U.S. Army 79th Infantry Division insignia patch can be ordered here.

In an interesting bit of trivia, in the 2007 Las Vegas episode "When Life Gives You Lemon Bars" (a mini "Magnum P.I. Reunion" episode that guest starred both Larry Manetti and Roger E. Mosley), Larry Manetti's character can be seen wearing the "Team Ring" on his right hand! You have to look closely to see it.

Something important missing? Got a correction? Shoot me an email.

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