NATCHEZ — A veteran with ties to Natchez has a country music star to thank for helping retrieve a ring given to him by his fiancé.

Port Gibson native and Iraq War veteran Kery Hatcher lost his Iraq veteran’s ring in Natchez while staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Natchez.

Country musician Sunny Sweeney — whose albums have charted in the top 20 on the country charts — posted an image on her social media accounts of the ring, which one of her relatives found at the Natchez hotel.

The singer called on her fan base to help locate the ring’s owner, and within a day, Hatcher was able to claim the valuable possession.

“I think it shows her integrity and what kind of person she really is,” Hatcher said. “That goes to show that (Sweeney) loves this country and its veterans.”

Hatcher served with the Mississippi Army National Guard 1-55 PH Infantry from 2005 until 2006 in Iraq. He is a civilian employee for the Vicksburg district U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Following his tenure in Iraq, his fiancé, Allison Ann Dalton, bought a ring for him from a VFW magazine.

The ring, which has the emblem of an eagle on a stone and Hatcher’s initials, was lost in the Hampton Inn hotel last year while he was working with the Corps to move a boat and barge down the Mississippi River.

Although it was the country singer’s aunt who found the ring earlier this month, Sweeney used her online fan base to reach out to Hatcher.

“I talked to Sunny Sweeney the day she posted the pictures of the ring on Facebook,” Hatcher said. “I confirmed that it was my ring, and I posted a comment on her post and she sent me a friend’s request.

“I then sent her a message with my number and asked if she would call me.”

Sweeney was not too busy to call Hatcher to get the information she needed to send the ring, which is very important to him.

“Now that it’s being returned, I realize it’s around the anniversary of when I was deployed to Iraq 10 years ago,” Hatcher said. “It just makes it that more special.”

Although Hatcher does not see himself as a hero, he’s still grateful to Sweeney.

“It really shows what kind of people we have in the county because of all the comments, posts and likes thanking me for my service,” Hatcher said. “I’m just a regular, average Mississippian that served his country. The real heroes are the ones that gave their lives for their country and did not return home.”

Hatcher is now a resident of Calhoun, La., but grew up attending Adams County Christian School and graduated from Chamberlain-Hunt Academy in Port Gibson in 1982.

Sweeney, however, is not only known for her country music, but her strong support for U.S. veterans.

In October, Sweeney posted a picture of a man praying with a solider in an airport, which accumulated more than one million likes and shares on Facebook.