Veteran tracks stolen and forgotten Medals of Honor
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| Vietnam Veteran Doug Sterner (homeofheroes.com) |
and former Army combat engineer, Doug Sterner has spent years researching valor
medals — including the Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross — that
have been presented to the nation’s service members.
Sterner estimates he’s documented about 105,000 of the nearly 350,000
medals above the Bronze Star and up to the Medal of Honor that have been awarded.
He is so dedicated to his quest that he and his wife moved from their
hometown of Pueblo, Colo., to Alexandria, where they could be closer to records
stored at the National Archives, Quantico Marine Corps base, the Washington
Navy Yard and other locations holding details.
“We were doing patriotic activities in our home town of Pueblo,” Sterner said.
“We were bringing in Medal of Honor recipients to meet with the kids.”
That work led Sterner to establish his own website, homeofheroes.com, which focused on Medal of Honor recipients.
In the process of establishing the website, Sterner kept running across people
who were falsely claiming to have received the medal. That led him to
get involved with the FBI, where he worked with agents on stolen valor
cases.
Soon, the Army Center for Military History and the Medal of Honor Society
joined Sterner and launched their own websites that listed Medal of Honor
recipients.
“It was very quick and very easy to vet anyone who falsely claimed a Medal of
Honor,” he said.
Then Sterner noticed a shift in stolen valor cases, as more and more people
began falsely claiming to have received service crosses.
“It’s not about stolen valor, it’s about forgotten valor,” he said.
building its own database, a move that Sterner applauds. (See article: Pentagon launches Medal of Honor database)
“When you start reading citations, you know stories come alive,” he
said.
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