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Born in Pennsylvania, he is said to have made friends in college with a number of students of East Asian descent, and from these interactions gained an interest in East Asian history. After completing a Master's degree at the University of Hawai'i in 1935, he received a subsidy allowing him to travel to Japan. There, while continuing his studies in Japanese history and culture, he gained an expertise in art and antiques. Kerr then took a job as a middle school English teacher in [[Taipei]], beginning in 1937; there, he happened to meet and speak with a number of professors from [[Taipei University|Taihoku Imperial University]], who inspired in him an interest in Okinawan history and culture. Once World War II broke out, he became a commissioned intelligence officer in service to the US military, heading the Formosa Research Unit associated with the US Navy Naval School of Military Government and Administration at Columbia University.

Born in Pennsylvania, he is said to have made friends in college with a number of students of East Asian descent, and from these interactions gained an interest in East Asian history. After completing a Master's degree at the University of Hawai'i in 1935, he received a subsidy allowing him to travel to Japan. There, while continuing his studies in Japanese history and culture, he gained an expertise in art and antiques. Kerr then took a job as a middle school English teacher in [[Taipei]], beginning in 1937; there, he happened to meet and speak with a number of professors from [[Taipei University|Taihoku Imperial University]], who inspired in him an interest in Okinawan history and culture. Once World War II broke out, he became a commissioned intelligence officer in service to the US military, heading the Formosa Research Unit associated with the US Navy Naval School of Military Government and Administration at Columbia University.

As a lieutenant in the US Navy Reserve, he penned an essay entitled "Sovereignty of the Liuchiu Islands" in which he asserted that [[Commodore Perry]] and other agents of the United States actively, intentionally, ''chose'' to treat the [[Ryukyu Kingdom]] as an independent kingdom in their interactions with Ryukyu in the 1850s, and that the post-WWII American Occupation of Okinawa was, in an important sense, a return to that friendly stance, opposed to Japanese colonialism and supportive of Okinawan distinctiveness, decolonization, and autonomy.<ref>Tze May Loo, ''Heritage Politics: Shuri Castle and Okinawa's Incorporation into Modern Japan, 1879-2000'', Lexington Books (2014), 150.; Kerr, "Sovereignty of the Liuchiu Islands," ''Far Eastern Survey'' 14:8 (1945), 96-100.</ref>

As a lieutenant in the US Navy Reserve, he penned an essay entitled "Sovereignty of the Liuchiu Islands" in which he asserted that [[Commodore Perry]] and other agents of the United States actively, intentionally, ''chose'' to treat the [[Ryukyu Kingdom]] as an independent kingdom in their interactions with Ryukyu in the 1850s, and that the post-WWII American Occupation of Okinawa was, in an important sense, a return to that friendly stance, opposed to Japanese colonialism and supportive of Okinawan distinctiveness, decolonization, and autonomy.<ref>Tze May Loo, ''Heritage Politics: Shuri Castle and Okinawa's Incorporation into Modern Japan, 1879-2000'', Lexington Books (2014), 150-151.; Kerr, "Sovereignty of the Liuchiu Islands," ''Far Eastern Survey'' 14:8 (1945), 96-100.</ref>

Following the end of World War II, he served for a time as vice consul at the US consulate in Taipei. He was a vocal critic of the [[Guomintang]] (KMT, Chinese Nationalist Party), and after the KMT violently suppressed popular protest in the 2-28 Incident of 1947, Kerr returned to the United States. He then worked for the Hoover Institution at the University of Washington for a time, and contributed to a study of the US military administration of the [[Ryukyu Islands]], publishing his first book on Okinawa in 1956. He also oversaw another such study, the [[Ryukyu Cultural Survey]], in 1960 to 1962.

Following the end of World War II, he served for a time as vice consul at the US consulate in Taipei. He was a vocal critic of the [[Guomintang]] (KMT, Chinese Nationalist Party), and after the KMT violently suppressed popular protest in the 2-28 Incident of 1947, Kerr returned to the United States. He then worked for the Hoover Institution at the University of Washington for a time, and contributed to a study of the US military administration of the [[Ryukyu Islands]], publishing his first book on Okinawa in 1956. He also oversaw another such study, the [[Ryukyu Cultural Survey]], in 1960 to 1962.