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Restoring Valor: One Couple?s Mission to Expose Fraudulent War Heroes and Protect America?s Military Awards System Hardcover – February 4, 2014
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Stolen valor occurs when a person lies about receiving military decorations that he or she has in fact never earned. It has become a major societal problem that has been discussed numerous times in the news; according to the New York Times, the Department of Veterans Affairs paid disability benefits to more than six hundred people falsely claiming to have been POWs in the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars. The number of stolen valor cases reported to the FBI has tripled in the last decade. In fact, more imposters lie about earning high military declarations for battlefield bravery than the actual number of real-life hero recipients. These imposters trade on tales and the trappings of military valor to secure privileges such as career advancements and even unearned veterans’ benefits.
In Restoring Valor, Doug Sterner provides riveting case studies of the stolen valor imposters he’s investigated and exposed and the serious crimesincluding murderthey’ve committed. He chronicles the evolution of stolen valor from the inception of the republic to today. Sterner shows why the federal law he and his wife, Pam, helped to enactthe Stolen Valor Actis necessary.
Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSkyhorse
- Publication dateFebruary 4, 2014
- Dimensions6 x 1 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101626365512
- ISBN-13978-1626365513
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Editorial Reviews
Review
[Doug Sterner] is a decorated Vietnam veteran who has made it his work in recent years to ensure that service members get the recognition they deserve and expose those who falsely claim acts of heroism under fire. Rather than wait for the government to act, Doug Sterner has.” CBS News
In praise of Restoring Valor:
We, as a nation, place a high degree of trust in those who proudly don America’s military decorations. When an individual lies about receiving medals that were not, in fact, earned, we feel the utmost betrayal. Restoring Valor, offers a compelling and thorough account of this phenomenon known as stolen valor.’” Senator Bob Dole
An eye-opening must-read for every veteran. Restoring Valor not only identifies the reasons for enacting the Stolen Valor Act but also demonstrates why every veteran service organization needs to safeguard their ranks as well as their community against false claims of military service and valor.” Mark L. Donald, Navy Cross recipient, former board member for the Legion of Valor, and department commander for the Military Order of Purple Heart
All of America needs to read this important information and learn from it.”
Sergeant First Class Sammy L. Davis, US Army (Ret.), Medal of Honor, Vietnam
This book is a must-read for all veterans! It is an outstanding chronicle of the extraordinary work done by the Sterners to protect our heroic veterans’ valorous actions. Less than 1 percent of Americans ever serve in our armed forces. Nearly everyone wishes they had. There are a lot of wannabe heroes in the 99 percent who never served. Thank you, Pam and Doug, for your tireless efforts in outing many of these phony heroes.” Brigadier General John C. Doc” Bahnsen, US Army (Ret.)
Terrific read. Stories of stolen valor you won’t believe, and those who hunt them down and participated in writing legislation to restore dignity to all those who have truly served in combat.” Peter C. Lemon, recipient, Congressional Medal of Honor
About the Author
Michael Mink is a free-lance writer who has written more than five-hundred nationally published articles and has co-authored two previous books.
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Product details
- Publisher : Skyhorse; 1st Edition (February 4, 2014)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1626365512
- ISBN-13 : 978-1626365513
- Item Weight : 15.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 1 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,224,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #441 in Military Law (Books)
- #1,526 in Hoaxes & Deceptions
- #23,770 in American Military History
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Doug Sterner is a decorated former Army Combat Engineer who served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He is a Life Member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and in 2012 was enrolled as an Honorary Life Member of the Legion of Valor. In 1998 and again in 2002 he was appointed by Colorado Governor Bill Owens to terms on the Colorado State Board of Veterans Affairs, and was subsequently elected to that Board as its Chairman.
In 1998 Doug launched a website at HomeOfHeroes.com to document the citations and biographies of our Nation’s Medal of Honor recipients. His website today receives more than 10 million hits each month. In 2001 he expanded his work to create a comprehensive database of military award recipients, and partnered with Military Times where he continues his work as Curator of the “Hall of Valor”, the the largest and most complete unoffical database of U.S. Military award recipients in the world.
Doug’s wife Pam, while a student at CSU-Pueblo, authored “The Stolen Valor Act” which she and Doug shepherded through Congress, as well as hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court in what became a landmark 2012 First Amendment decision. Their efforts are detailed in their 2014 book: Restoring Valor – One Couple’s Mission to Expose Fraudulent War Heroes and Protect America’s Military Awards System.
Doug has been a frequent guest on all major News Networks, and in May 2011 was named CNN’s most intriguing person in the news. He has been featured in two half-hour documentaries, and done two guest appearances for Lou Diamond Phillips’ History Channel program “An Officer and a Movie.” He and Pam were featured in a 2011 in AARP Magazine, the largest circulation magazine in the world, and he was again featured the following year (January 2012) in “Penthouse” for his work.
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A Bronze Star recipient for his service during the Vietnam war, Doug watched incredulously as fakes and phonies claimed military successes they never earned. It was too much. He decided to debunk these pretenders. Using public records, he began the enormous project of setting up a detailed database of those who had received our nation's highest awards for meritorious military service. His database verified the individuals name, branch of the service, rank, award received and listed the full description of the actions prompting that award. Gradually, he was able to contest those who dishonestly claimed to be heroes. Politicians, governmental officials, and private citizens began turning to him with questions -- and he was able to debunk or confirm that an individual was in fact a true hero or was, unfortunately, gaming the system for his own aggrandizement. Pam, a student during part of the time Doug was generating the database, began writing a paper on the topic of those who claimed awards they had never really earned. Her work was so significant that the paper became the starting point for what ultimately became the Stolen Valor Act.
Pam and Doug urged politicians and governmental officials to author and/or support the Act. They met with Congressional representatives and appeared before Congressional committees. They debunked case after case of fraudulent claims of heroism. Along the way, they helped countless private citizens learn more about their own relative's high awards and made it possible for those families to memorialize their loved ones (often many years after their death) and preserve their stories for the future.
Although there were setbacks along the way, this amazing couple (who never looked for recognition themselves, but stood in line with others to get into the Supreme Court to hear the case on the Act they initiated) was able to move the dial of history. A revealing book written by two who know this important subject like no one else.
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