Originally Posted by
falcon900
Was the fighting not supposed to have something to do with freedom in the first place….?
Why should the descendants of the recipient of any medal not be free to sell it should they wish? I wouldn’t be inclined to do so personally, but I certainly don’t see it as disrespectful. As for sanctioning someone for having the timerity to pay a lot of money to buy one, what is the problem with that?
While I am on a roll, I am not sure that paying £250k would be the first and best use of funds by the RAF museum. Surely what is important is recording and recognising the bravery behind it. The piece of metal is just that, and the museum already has plenty of examples of it.
For the absolute avoidance of doubt, I am deeply respectful and appreciative of the selfless bravery and sacrifice which lies behind all medals, not just the VC. Recognition of that is what is important, rather than the piece of metal. Spend the money on telling the stories even better, and forget the medal.
It has nothing to do with 'freedom' - it's a condition of receiving the medal. Technically the medal belongs to the government, reselling it means you are effectively selling something that isn't really yours to sell.
If a condition of receiving the Medal of Honor is that it's 'non-transferable', then if the recipient doesn't agree with that condition, he/she has the 'freedom' to refuse the medal.
Once they accept the medal, they've agreed to the condition (in the case of posthumous awards, the condition applies to whomever accepts the award on their behalf.)