Special Projects

Christmas Day is associated with beautifully decorated trees hovering above colorfully-wrapped gifts, families gathered around a dinner table, the scent of pine and gingerbread and air filled with chatter. The Thresher family received on their Christmas Eve of 1967 news from two Marines on their Milwaukee doorstep that their son and brother had stepped on […]

For many, brotherhood is a bond that flows deeper than blood and stands stronger than bone. For Johnny “Doc” Webb, Jim Gridley, and the members of the first American ground unit that crossed into Cambodia at 08:45 on May 1, 1970, that brotherhood would be forged in a white-hot moment under the weight of a […]

The year is 1965, and America has been involved in the war between South Vietnam and North Vietnam for 10 years. President Johnson just authorized an increase in U.S. military presence and by fall of 1965 over 150,000 soldiers had descended to Vietnam to fight in the war. During that year, 1,928 soldiers died in […]

David Radonski had plenty of memories with Butchie, Kenneth Radonski’s childhood nickname. The brothers shared a room together growing up, worked together at their father’s gas station on 16th and Oklahoma in Milwaukee and received their Confirmation together. David describes his memories with Kenneth as “clean fun.” “We would go crabbing and biking together,” David […]

The calm South China Sea rested in front of two men as they sat on a white sandy beach in Vietnam. Martin Short and William J. Hondel had stopped to take a break and enjoy the sun for a few moments before returning to their work. Although they were in a war, and away from […]

Feb. 27, 1969 was just another normal day at Naval Support Activity Da Nang, South Vietnam. The LCU-1500 was unloading ammunition when a rocket collided with the side of the ship and destroyed it. On that ship was Bruno W. Demata. At the age of 18, Bruno DeMata decided to enlist in the United States […]

“I’m going to have to get out of here, because it’s killing me.” That’s it. That’s what the letter said that Robert E. Uthemann sent to his only brother, Jurgen Uthemann. Jurgen did not know what to think of it other than his brother needed to get out Korea, where he was stationed during the […]

Terry Lynn Martin, a Milwaukee native, was only 18-years-old when he was deployed to Vietnam in December 1968. With his whole life in front of him, he unfortunately only lasted about six weeks before falling in battle on Jan. 20, 1969 in Tay Ninh, Vietnam. However, unlike so many, his legacy has lived on for […]

“What a waste.” Those were the words spoken again and again by Earl Paulich in reference to the loss of his brother, Vietnam War veteran Patrick James Paulich, who died in combat on Nov. 30, 1970 at 20-years-old. Only their mother called him Patrick, though. To everyone else he knew he was Pat. Pat was […]

James R. Neubauer grew up in Portage, Wis., a small town towards the center of Wisconsin. At a young 15-years-old, he joined the military and would spend the next 19 years as a dedicated American soldier. His only remaining loved ones are his niece and nephew Cheryl Barton and Dennis Simonson. “My uncle James was […]

For years, Larry Knapp searched for any link to the friend he lost years ago on a dark night in Vietnam, 1966. With the thought of his friend Nathaniel Merriweather close to his heart, Knapp never stopped searching. Where was Merriweather buried? He wondered of the young man he only knew had come from Milwaukee […]

On Facebook, Gerald Schultz’s son, Daniel, has posted a picture of a visit he made to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. He stands in front of his father’s name, and you can see the reflection of the son in the Wall. “Here at the Vietnam Wall. Found my dad’s name,” wrote Schultz, 47. “I am […]