Seven long-lost war medals belonging to a South Australian airman have been reunited with his family during a moving Anzac Day dawn service — a year after they mysteriously surfaced in a Melbourne op shop.
The medals, awarded to Warrant Officer Kenneth Peters, appeared in the Posh Opp Shoppe in Melbourne, with owner Jason Silverstein saying he couldn't bring himself to sell them.
"From my memories of my grandfather's medals — he served at Gallipoli — I remember taking them to school and how much they meant to me, so I couldn't sell them," he told 7NEWS.
Search for the family
A search soon revealed the decorations belonged to Peters, an Adelaide-born tail gunner whose bravery in the skies over Europe earned him the Distinguished Flying Medal.
When asked for help, Unley RSL president Pieter Haverhoek made it his mission to track down surviving relatives.
The medals were given to Kenneth Peters' great-niece Stephanie Gardiner.
That search eventually led to Peters' great-niece Stephanie Gardiner, who says the reunion only happened because of a family tragedy.
"If my mother hadn't passed away, she never would have been linked and the medals wouldn't come back to our family," she said.
"From sad things, good things come — and I think Mum's looking on this today."
Wartime journal entries read aloud
During Saturday morning's service, Peters' own words were read aloud — entries from his wartime journal describing the moment he shot down an enemy aircraft.
"'I let loose at 400 yards,'" his journal said. "'I think I hit him with the initial burst, but he kept on coming. I was firing the whole time.'"
Silverstein said returning the medals was overwhelming.
"It's very, very emotional — it's much bigger than me or the op shop," he said. "It's beyond my wildest dreams… so, so moving."
After a year-long search spanning two states, Peters' family says they're grateful to everyone who helped bring the medals home.
"Thank you so much for going above and beyond to track us down," Gardiner said. "It was a miracle that brought us all together."
It remains a mystery how the medals ended up in Melbourne.
