Sam Robinson left his own medals in their box this Anzac Day, instead wearing medals awarded to the father of a family friend.
The medals, WWI and WWII navy medals awarded to George Morris, had been lost after the death of his daughter Valerie Morris. They recently turned up inthe props department of the Kandallah Repertory Theatre.
Sam was astonished to be contacted by Medals Reunited NZ (MRNZ), a voluntary service of ex-military career servicemen dedicated to reuniting military medals and other possessions with the families to whom they belong.
The organisation had identified him as the executor of Valerie's will and the correct person to take posession of the lost medals.
MRNZ was established by Ian Martyn after a long search for his great-grandfather's medals, which revealed a large number of NZ war medals no longer in the care of their rightful families, having been sold by cash-strapped veterans, lost, or simply given away.
Sam chose to wear George Morris' rediscovered medals at the Hatuma Anzac Day Service.
"George Morris joined the navy as a midshipman when he was just 14. He finished his career as a lieutenant in WWII. His service needs to be remembered," Sam said, as he stood beside his grandson Otto Josephson, who proudly carried the medals of his great-grandfather Hugh Robinson.
