The stories of Washingtonian war heroes going back to before World War I can now be found in a newly published book released earlier this spring.
“Beyond Belief: True Stories of Washington State Heroes that Defy Comprehension” is a compilation of the stories of more than 100 Washington U.S. service members — including several from Lewis and Thurston counties — and is the 12th book in the Beyond Belief series.
With Memorial Day next week on Monday, May 27, this will be the third article in a series where The Chronicle previews the Beyond Belief Washington edition by sharing some stories of Lewis and Thurston veterans leading up to Memorial Day.
This installment features the story of a Centralia resident.
The books are written by a team of authors led by C. Douglas Sterner, a U.S. Army combat engineer who was awarded two Bronze Star Medals and served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. Now, Sterner is a self-published author of over 100 books on military history.
The Chronicle reached out to Sterner, who lives in Pueblo, Colorado, to find out more about his efforts.
“I recently signed up with the (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) … and they sent me to talk to a shrink,” Sterner previously told The Chronicle. “I said, ‘I never thought I had PTSD,’ and she said, ‘Well it’s my professional opinion that the reason you’re so driven to write all these stories of other heroes is how you’ve dealt with your PTSD.’ And who knows, she might be right.”
Writing is an art form, and since art can be used for therapy, Sterner has no plans to stop publishing books. Along with his books, Sterner has spent nearly 30 years creating a database for recipients of Distinguished Service Crosses, Distinguished Flying Crosses, Silver Star medals and other highly distinguished awards.
“I started doing this after I found out the services weren’t maintaining a comprehensive list of medal winners aside from Medal of Honor recipients,” Sterner said. “I have more than a quarter of a million citations in there of people who received high awards.”
It is from this database he is now pulling stories from award citations for the Beyond Belief book series.
Along with the Washington state edition, Beyond Belief books are currently available for the states of Arizona, Alabama, Montana and Colorado. Sterner hopes to publish Oregon’s next. Ultimately, his goal is to have an edition for all 50 states.
“Oregon will be in June, and I’ll just keep on going from there as long as I can keep writing these stories,” Sterner said.
Other Beyond Belief books focus on stories of U.S. Navy sailors, U.S. Marines, military chaplains, civilian heroes, U.S. aviation heroes and military families.
Beyond Belief books featuring special operations missions and great escapes are also in the works, Sterner added.
All of Sterner’s work is available on Amazon in both print and digital form. For more information, visit https://www.herobooks.org/.
To access Sterner’s medal recipient database, visit https://homeofheroes.com/.
Fighting in the Philippines
Born on Dec. 21, 1907, in Centralia, Dexter James Kerstetter was known for his love of fighting, which would eventually help him earn the military’s most distinguished award — the Medal of Honor.
Historian and fellow Medal of Honor recipient Donald K. Ross said Kerstetter was described “as a scrapper, ready to fight anyone for the pure pleasure of fighting.”
He attended Centralia High School for two years before dropping out to work as an equipment mechanic at the Hub City Creamery. Kerstetter was married in 1933. He was an avid outdoorsman who loved hunting and fishing.
At the age of 36, he enlisted in the Army during World War II on March 18, 1942. Kerstetter earned the nickname “pop” in boot camp as he was much older than the other recruits.
After graduating from boot camp, Kerstetter was assigned to Company C, 130th Infantry Regiment, 33rd Infantry Division, as a cook. On July 12, 1943, the 33rd Infantry Division arrived in Hawaii for jungle warfare training.
Then they deployed, first landing unopposed on Morotai Island in the Philippines, then on to the Lingayen Gulf where heavy fighting ensued. Tired of being a cook and wanting to get into the fight, Kerstetter made an appeal to his commanding officer and was given the chance to be an infantryman.
On April 13, 1945, as a private first class, Kerstetter and his platoon received orders to take a hill near Galiano, a small village on Luzon Island in the Philippines.
Imperial Japanese forces were well entrenched on the hill and rained down mortar rounds and machine gun fire on anyone who approached.
To make things more difficult, the only way to the top of the hill was a narrow jungle trail with cliffs, caves and spider holes; commanders estimated it could take weeks to root out enemy forces and gain control of the hill.
As Kerstetter’s platoon began making its way up the trail, they were immediately fired upon. Five men were hit.
Kerstetter, as the platoon’s lead scout, saw what he thought could be an alternate route and led his squad up a steep hogback where they were able to advance around 500 yards before being noticed by Imperial Japanese forces, who opened fire. Five more men fell to machine gun fire and Kerstetter dove into a shallow depression to take cover.
He looked around and located the enemy position, then carefully moved close enough to where he could engage them, killing four enemy soldiers and knocking out the machine gun. His surviving squadmates were inspired by his tenacity and followed Kerstetter in a charge that forced Japanese soldiers to retreat to another position.
His scout squad regrouped and advanced a bit further before being stopped again by enemy fire. Kerstetter left the trail temporarily and lowered himself into a cave entrance, where he opened fire and killed four more Imperial Japanese soldiers.
Returning to the trail, he charged forward again and eliminated another machine gun nest. When a patrol of about 20 Imperial Japanese soldiers appeared as reinforcements, Kerstetter threw grenades and unloaded his rifle on the patrol, killing some, wounding others and forcing survivors to scatter in all directions.
He was firing so much he burned his hand on the barrel of his rifle, but continued fighting still. Kerstetter’s platoon continued advancing up the hill while he briefly returned to the rear to get more ammunition and have a medic bandage his hand.
With more ammunition in hand, Kerstetter returned to the front and attacked again, inspiring his fellow soldiers to continue their own efforts.
In the end, Kerstetter was credited with killing 16 enemy soldiers that day, and his bravery was credited with inspiring the rest of the platoon to be able to take the hill near Galiano that same day — instead of the weeks that had been originally predicted by his commanders.
“The hill was taken and held against the enemy's counterattacks, which continued for three days,” read an excerpt from Kerstetter’s Medal of Honor citation. “Private First Class Kerstetter's dauntless and gallant heroism was largely responsible for the capture of this key enemy position, and his fearless attack in the face of great odds was an inspiration to his comrades in their dangerous task.”
After WWII, he returned to Centralia and served in the Washington State Guard. In 1954, he began working at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. On July 9, 1972, Kerstetter was fishing in a 14-foot boat with his son and stepson off Misery Point near Seabeck when their boat hit a swell, took on water and capsized.
The three men jumped out in an effort to flip the boat back over. Their efforts were unsuccessful and the men ended up having to cling to the boat's overturned hull for three hours.
During that time, Kerstetter slipped beneath the waves and drowned. His son and stepson were eventually rescued by a passing pleasure boat.
While divers from the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office made repeated attempts to locate and recover Kerstetter’s body, he was never found.
A cenotaph with his name was placed at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent.
Additionally, signs on Mellen Street and state Route 507 in Centralia were installed and read “Home of WWII Medal of Honor Recipient Dexter J Kerstetter.”
