"Harvested" is indeed a euphemism; one that I would not use if I knew whether they were removed as souvenirs by the family (perfectly understandable IMO) or the less palatable removal by a collector for sale individually.
I think I understand your preference for a non-restored item, and I am examining my own reasons. My goal is a display item that conveys some of the history of the item, and a stripped battledress does not achieve that. I believe that a restoration will satisfy the basic ethics of historic artefact conservation/restoration, namely that:
1) Appropriate materials are used
2) The restoration is fully reversible
3) The restoration process is fully documented
I appreciate people's thoughts.
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