Doug Sterner
Born
C. Douglas Sterner

1950 (age 7576)
OccupationMilitary historian
SpousePamla Sterner (m. 1974)
Military career
AllegianceUnited States
Branch
United States Army
Conflicts
Vietnam War
AwardsBronze Star (2)

C. Douglas Sterner (born in 1950) is a military historian[1] and a decorated U.S. Military veteran. He has written over 70 books about U.S. military valor awards and their recipients.[1] He is the author of the Stolen Valor Act of 2005.

Biography

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Claude Douglas Sterner was born in 1950 in Montana.[2]

Sterner served in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer.[1] He saw two tours of duty in Vietnam, where he was award two Bronze Star medals for his heroic actions. During his second tour, he was assigned to be a combat writer/photographer[2] He

After completing his military service, he initially worked for a time as a prison guard. Then, with his wife Pam and family, they became traveling youth evangelists. He wrote over 150 Gospel music songs.[2] After eight years, they "settled down."[2]

In 1986, he moved on to managing residential housing.[2]

In 1988, Sterner return to college and earned an associates degree in computer information systems (CIS). He was hired by the college as a CIS instructor; and, he began using the newly learned computer skills to create "HomeOfHeros.com".[2]

In 2005, he resigned his teaching position to work full-time as a military historian.[2]

Home of Heroes

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Stener is the creator/founder of "Home of Heroes", "an online museum dedicated to the Medal of Honor and other valor awards.[1] According to Military.com, Home of Heroes "is the most comprehensive database of military valor awards there is."[1] He’s also the author of 73 books on the subject.

Bibliography

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Sterner's interest in writing began at a young age, writing stories and poetry. As a high school student, he wrote two books of fiction (unpublished):[2] He has continued his prolific writing career to this day:

Memoir

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Sterner and his wife wrote a "memoir" that includes their story of "[making] Pueblo the Home of Heroes" (At one time, their hometown of Pueblo, Colorado was the home of four living Medal of Honor recipients.)[3]

  • Sterner, C. Douglas; Sterner, Pamla (2021). How Pueblo Became the Home of Heroes: Don't Fight City Hall - Entice Them to Join You. Skyhorse Publishing.

Recognizing Japanese-Americans

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  • Sterner, C. Douglas (2015). Go For Broke: The Nisei Warriors of World War II Who Conquered Germany, Japan, and American Bigotry. American Legacy Historical Press.

Wings of Valor series

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Sterner authored a three-book series on military aviation which covers the start of military aviation in World War I and the European and Pacific theaters of World War II:

  • Sterner, C. Douglas (2015). Wings of Valor - Volume 1: World War I | The Birth of Military Aviation.
  • Sterner, C. Douglas (2015). Wings of Valor - Volume 2: World War II | A War in the Pacific.
  • Sterner, C. Douglas (2015). Wings of Valor - Volume 3: World War II | Bombs Over Europe (1942 - 1944).

Beyond Belief series

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Sterner, with his wife Pamla, complied and edited a book series, Beyond Belief, each a "compililation of short stories" of heroism:

Fiction

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Unusual...[4]

  • Sterner, C. Douglas (2015). A Snapshot in Time.
Unpublished
  • (unpublished)The Hero, about World War II (written as a high school sophomore)[2]
  • (unpublished) A Drop in Bucket, about a Soviet sleeper agent (written as a high school senior)[2]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Stilwell, Blake (June 29, 2020). "One Man's Life's Work Is Memorializing the Valor of US Service Members". Military.com. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Cite error: The named reference HuffPost was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. Bartolo, James (May 6, 2024). "What to know about the Medal of Honor recipients that made Pueblo the 'Home of Heroes'". The Pueblo Chieftan. Retrieved August 1, 2025. [Raymond G. "Jerry"] Murphy, [Drew D.] Dix, William J. Crawford and Carl L. Sitter were all living Medal of Honor recipients when Rep. Scott McInnis' declaration of Pueblo as "The Home of Heroes" was recognized by Congress on July 1, 1993.
  4. Earls, Stephanie (February 14, 2015). "Pueblo military historian surprises wife with new genre: romantic erotica". Denver Gazette. Archived from the original on August 1, 2025. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  5. "C. Douglas Sterner, Author". Home of Heroes. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  6. "About the Author: C. Douglas Sterner". Amazon.com. Retrieved August 1, 2025.<ref> <ref name='HuffPost'>Stein, Sylvia (September 23, 2016). "Author Spotlight with Doug Sterner (Author, Vietnam Veteran)| A Man of Valor". HuffPost. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
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