John I agree with that totally. A families choice and often through loss they feel the need to apply for medals that were never claimed.
In 2016 though I remember a metal detectorist going over the banks at Southwark I think at low tide on the River Thames in London and finding an authentic Victoria Cross.

It was later determined, that the Cross was won by a Private Byrnes in the Crimian War at Inkerman in 1854.

Mystery of tragic Victoria Cross found in the Thames solved - AOL

A very interesting find......................but why oh why did he throw away his medal unless it was through disgust on the way he and thousands of others were treated on their return.
I can't find any newspaper articles covering any interviews after the war, but I am sure the story will turn up one day.....................very sad!!