The first buyer had returned them as the medals weren't what he had anticipated. The other buyer had had the medals since July.
The image of the medals on the advertisement clearly showed Mr Sweetman's engraved name and identification number. He said he found it hard to fathom why no checks were made.
He had previously advised the navy of the stolen medals.
Mr Sweetman went to Community Constable Paul Sampson and Trade Me for assistance in recovering the medals.
Westport and Auckland police worked together to track down the medals.
Police issued a search warrant for the Auckland buyer's house and had the medals sent back to their rightful owner.
Mr Sweetman was grateful to all involved: "If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have had a result," he said.
Although he had had replacement medals made, wearing them at functions like navy reunions wasn't the same as wearing the original medals.
"It's more personal than anything. It means nothing to anyone else."
The medals had been attached to a standard issue jacket. They were among other items stolen from Mr Sweetman's house, including meat, clothes, a radio, and his wife's ashes.
The ashes had been kept in a sealed courier bag on the dressing table in his bedroom. The thieves ripped open the bag, tried to reseal it, then stuffed it in the letterbox.
