Editorial: Sale of medals is up to hero

Surely this cost of maintaining the memorial should fall on governments, writes Dylan Thorne. Pictured is war veteran Les Munro.

Tauranga's Les Munro, the last surviving Dambuster from World World II, put his life on the line for his country, so if he wants to sell his medals then that is a matter entirely for him.

The veteran recently announced he planned to auction his medals and log books to raise money to maintain the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park, London.

His awards, which include the Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Flying Cross, are expected to fetch between 40,000 and 50,000 ($81,616 and $102,031) at the March 25 auction.

The memorial costs about 50,000 to maintain annually.

Government officials intervened soon after he announced his intentions, telling him the government could still block the auction. They later concluded the medals were not covered by the Protected Objects Act 1975 and could be sold.

While it would be a sad day for this country if the medals were sold to a foreign buyer, the medals belong to Mr Munro alone.

A government department should not be able to veto any decision he makes.

Mr Munro feels compelled to help cover the cost of maintaining the memorial to his fallen comrades, feeling the burden should not fall on future generations. He should feel no such concern.

Without the sacrifice he and others made when confronting the threat of Nazi Germany, the world as we know it now, would be a much different place.

Our generation and those that follow owe a debt to those who served in World War II and fought for freedom and democracy.

Surely this cost of maintaining the memorial should fall on governments.

It should not fall on those who have already sacrificed so much for their countries.

The real pity is that the amount Mr Munro will receive for his medals - should he sell them - will be swallowed up by maintenance in just 12 short months. And then what? Wouldn't it be better if the money went into an investment fund that attracted other like-minded contributors so that the interest covered the memorial's costs and the symbols of his sacrifice will live on in perpetuity?