Doug and Pam Sterner
Doug enlisted in the Army in 1969 and took basic training and Combat Engineer AIT at Fort Leonard Wood, MO before completing the 6-month Non-Commissioned Officers Candidate Course. He began his 2 tours of Vietnam duty in August, 1970 as a squad leader in Company A, 65th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 25th Infantry Division at Dau Tieng. Less than two months later on a mission near the Cambodian border he received the first of two Bronze Star Medals.
By Christmas of that year Sergeant Sterner was reassigned to the 14th Engineer Battalion at FSB Nancy and FSB Barbara near Hue. The following February he received the Army Commendation Medal for Valor as a squad leader for the engineer unit that led the combat air assault to re-open Khe Sahn in Operation Lam Son 719. He began his second Vietnam tour the following August with the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat), attached to the 101st Infantry Division (Airborne) at Camp Eagle, before returning south to Bien Hoa where he served with the 1st Air Cavalry Division. He "pulled" his last mission just seven days before his return home on 10 March 1972 as a member of Team 75, Company H (Ranger) 75th Infantry Division (Airborne), 1st Brigade, 1st Air Cavalry Division (Airmobile).
Following release from active duty, Doug spent five years as a member of an airmobile unit of the Montana National Guard. Today he remains active in several veterans' organizations, writes extensively on military and American history, and is considered one of the most knowledgeable historians of America's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.
Doug and
his wife Pam have four children and make their home in Pueblo, Colorado where their civic and
patriotic activities have become a family effort. Recently their twelve year old son
testified before the Colorado State Legislature in a successful effort to enact
legislation authorizing distinctive vehicle license plates for Medal of Honor recipients.
They have received numerous awards including the Boy Scouts of America's "DISTRICT
AWARD OF MERIT". In 1995 they were honored by the Congressional Medal of Honor
Society with an award for "Patriotism in America", and in 1998 they received the
Society's prestigious "Distinguished Citizen Award".
Presently Doug and Pam are developing plans for a 19,000 square foot
"Hall Of Heroes" museum to promote patriotism and preserve the history of our nation. When completed it will provide all-day educational field trips for local schools.
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