Medal of Honor Monday: Army Maj. Dexter Kerstetter

At age 34, Army Maj. Dexter James Kerstetter was considered an old man when he enlisted to fight in World War II. His fellow soldiers called him “Pop,” and they came to rely on him for survival and inspiration, especially as the Allies fought to retake the Philippines in 1945. Kerstetter received the Medal of Honor for his bravery and leadership.

Kerstetter was born Dec. 21, 1907, in Centralia, Washington, to George and Lydia Kerstetter. He had two brothers and five sisters.

After two years of high school, Kerstetter dropped out to work as an equipment mechanic at a creamery in his hometown, according to HistoryLink.org, an online encyclopedia of Washington state history. He kept that job for 13 years before moving to Portland, Oregon, to work at a shipyard, according to the Associated Press.

When the U.S. entered World War II, Kerstetter wanted to do his part. So, on March 18, 1942, at the age of 34, he enlisted in the Army. Most of the soldiers he joined with were at least a decade younger.

Kerstetter was initially assigned to serve as a cook’s aide with the 130th Infantry Regiment, 33rd Infantry Division. The unit went to Hawaii to train in July 1943 before deploying to New Guinea in May 1944.

In February 1945, the 33rd Infantry Division landed on the beachhead of Lingayen Gulf on the island of Luzon during the Allied push to reclaim the Philippines from the Japanese. While there, Kerstetter, then a private first class, requested to be put on the front lines. His request was granted, and he was quickly trained up as a forward scout in the second rifle platoon of Company C.

On April 13, 1945, Kerstetter’s company took part in a dawn attack against hillside enemy positions, only approachable along a narrow ridge surrounded by steep cliffs. In those cliffs were hidden holes and tunnels that led to caves where the enemy positioned mortars, machine guns and rifles.

When the company’s lead element was stalled by intense fire that wounded five, Kerstetter and his squad moved into the lead to take over. Kerstetter moved well ahead of his fellow soldiers to draw fire in hopes of exposing enemy positions. Carefully, he worked his way up the steep and narrow ridge, taking the brunt of the attack as he strategically fired back, forcing the enemy to take cover.

Kerstetter soon left the trail and made his way down a treacherously steep cliff, dropping down to the entrance of a cave where he surprised and killed four Japanese soldiers.

Making his way back to the trail, Kerstetter moved forward again and, despite heavy enemy fire, took out a heavy machine-gun crew. He used the rest of his ammunition and grenades to scatter about 20 enemy fighters before returning to his squad to get more ammo and first aid for his left hand, which was blistered from the heat of his rifle.

Once he resupplied, Kerstetter guided a fresh platoon into a position to launch an attack. Along the way, he took out three more enemy soldiers.

Kerstetter was credited with killing 16 Japanese fighters that day. Thanks to his fearlessness, his company was inspired to take the hill and hold it against enemy counterattacks, which continued for three days.

During those attacks, Kerstetter was wounded in the leg by sniper fire and spent two months in a hospital, during which he was promoted to sergeant.

Kerstetter was discharged from the Army in August 1945 and returned to Centralia to work in mechanical repair, according to HistoryLink.

Two months later, on Oct. 12, 1945, Kerstetter received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman during a White House ceremony. Fourteen other men also received the nation’s highest medal for valor that day.

Kerstetter continued his military service in the Washington State National Guard, reaching the rank of major. He worked in Olympia, Washington, for a time before moving to Bremerton, Washington, in 1954 to work as a machinist at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

Kerstetter was an avid hunter and fisherman who was active in several veterans’ organizations, including the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 5, which was later renamed in his honor. He married three times and raised six children, as well as three stepchildren.

On July 9, 1972, Kerstetter was with one of his sons and stepsons on a 14-foot aluminum boat fishing in Hood Canal along Puget Sound when the vessel was hit by two swells that filled the boat, according to a Kitsap Sun newspaper article. The three men capsized the boat in an effort to get the water out. The trio was in the water for about three hours when Kerstetter disappeared under the water. His sons said several boats came by during that time but didn’t stop to help. The sons were eventually rescued, but Kerstetter was presumed drowned. His body was never recovered.

According to the Kitsap Sun, Kerstetter’s death came within a month after his retirement from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. He was also due to retire as a lieutenant colonel from the National Guard that September.

In Kerstetter’s memory, a grave marker bears his name at Tahoma National Cemetery. In 2014, a street at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, was also named in his honor.