Military historian/author Doug Sterner has just released his 122nd book, “Beyond Belief – True Stories of Kansas Heroes That Defy Comprehension.” The 550-page, illustrated anthology profiles the stories of 124 members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard from the Sunflower State who have been highly decorated for heroism in defense of freedom. The profiled heroes have connections to more than 100 Kansas cities, towns and communities. It is the ninth in a planned set of 50 books, one for each state. The books are available on Amazon in hardback, paperback, Kindle, and audio book.

The cover story features perhaps Kansas’ best-know military hero and honored statesman, Second Lieutenant Robert J. Dole. Other Kansas heroes like Winfield’s four Strother Brothers, Manhattan’s World War II D-Day hero and Medal of Honor recipient Walter Ehlers, and Wichita Air ACE James Jabara, are well known names. Many of the profiled heroes are little known and have almost been lost to history until now.

With more than 50,000 pages in print, Sterner is likely the most published military historian ever. The 75-year old author is a Vietnam Veteran, and began writing hero stories after the death of his closest friend in Vietnam, two months after Sterner returned home. To fulfill his ambitious goal of doing a book like this for each of the United States, he has enlisted a team of fellow researcher/authors; contributing authors for the Kansas book include Cathy Metcalf who wrote the story of her father, Walter Ehlers.

Sterner’s collection of books can be found in his author page at www.herobooks.org, which links each book to Amazon.