Davina Smith April 25, 2026 — 7:20pm If you asked Stanley Walsh where he got his Distinguished Conduct Medal – our nation’s second-highest military honour behind the Victoria Cross – he would have told you he found it in a cornflakes box. The story is far more spine-tingling than that. Less luck. Much more pluck. Stan Walsh’s World War II medals, including his DCM on the far left. In his defence, perhaps Walsh was a little blasé about the much-lauded military prize because DCMs were nothing new in his household. Stan’s father, Richard, was also a recipient of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, making them the only father-and-son pair in Australian history to both receive the honour. Stan Walsh in his army days. Now, the descendants of the Walsh heroes are on a mission – to elevate Stan’s medal to a Victoria Cross while also trying to locate the original DCM awarded to Richard that went missing decades ago during the division of his estate. Warrant Officer Stanley Walsh was a legendary Rat of Tobruk.…