I'm not sure where to put this so here it is - it combines so many elements of this site - research; compassion; unstinting help. So I couldn't resist it. The medal detective
What a great story. I have no idea where medals won by my great grandfather's (they were in both WW1 & WW2) ended up. I recently purchased a few from eBay sellers as replacements so I could have them framed as a way of preserving the memory of their service but there is part of me that thinks I am complicit in depriving someone else like me of their family's heritage.
Ted, Thanks for posting this. What a great story. Most of us will never undertake a project that offers that type of satisfaction. Many countries should look at similar legislation around the trading of military decorations.
When Zachariah Fike returned from Iraq in 2006, he needed a hobby to stop his mind wandering back to the scenes he had left behind. He had come back a different person - he'd seen good things and bad things, and needed a way of dealing with the stress. For him, the solution was to collect antiques - he enjoyed the thrill of searching for lost treasure. Sometimes he came across military items - helmets, uniforms, medals. It bothered him to see them lying around, so he started buying them up. Fike, aged 35, comes from a long line of soldiers. His parents met in the army. His grandfather was a World War Two veteran who would drive hitchhiking soldiers all the way home, even if it meant going 100 miles out of his way. The medal detective