Robert Uthemann: A German Immigrant Remembered by His Last Kin

“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 Vietnam War.

“We were in two different worlds practically,” Jurgen said. “It’s not that we had a problem with each other. It’s just that we were both on different tracks.”

Jurgen Uthemann is Robert’s older and only brother. Being eight years older than him, by the time they had moved to the United States from Germany in 1957, Robert was 13 and Jurgen was 21. The age gap did not allow for much interaction between the two. A phone call with him revealed Robert’s story and tragic death.

Jurgen still lives in Milwaukee. He is the only living kin to Robert’s name. Their mother, father, stepfather and Robert’s wife have all died. As the only living immediate relative, he does not have a picture of his brother. Jurgen made it apparent twice when talking to him that he wanted a copy.

Robert’s name was one of 64 on a list of missing photos of service members from Wisconsin who died in Vietnam. Jessica McBride’s Integrated Reporting class at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee started looking for the remaining photos this February, along with other volunteers, at the request of a local father whose son died in Afghanistan.

The family, including Uthemann’s stepfather and mother, Martha Scheler, moved to Sturgeon Bay for winter as they babysat a ship for the winter and lived on the boat for the winter. Their stepfather was hoping to get a job at a shipyard in Sturgeon Bay, but that did not work out and the family decided to buy a house in Milwaukee on 34^th and Oklahoma.

Once the family was in Milwaukee, Robert attended Casimir Pulaski High School and graduated there in 1963. At this time in his life, though, he went by the name of Herbert. That was his birth name given to him in Germany.

“He didn’t like the way people pronounced his name here,” Jurgen said. “I had the same problem. My legal name is Jurgen, but I go by Jerry now. He probably legally changed it once he was in the Army.”

This caused some trouble searching for a picture of Robert, which was needed to eventually go up in the education center that will be built near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. But after getting an email from an alumnus who graduated with a Herbert Uthemann, and suspected it was Robert, and after calling Pulaski High School and confirming the date of birth with the name, it was concluded that Robert was indeed Herbert. Several pictures were unearthed from an old yearbook. According to the yearbook, Herbert was a member of the cappella choir and a Junior Red Cross officer during his years at Pulaski High School.

Jurgen said Robert decided to enlist in the army after graduation because he had trouble finding a job.

“My family decided to visit him while he was working Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver,” Jurgen said. “We planned on going camping there.”

Jurgen chuckled as he recalled vivid memories from the trip. He remembers when Robert was playing poker with his Army mates and wanted Jurgen to join, but he did not know how to play. Jurgen joined Robert and his Army mates anyway.

“We went out in the nature to go camping,” Jurgen said. “The dam there leaked and we went fishing. He collected lures that day, and we had fresh trout for breakfast.”

But what Jurgen did not know that this would be his last time he would see him. Robert was transferred to Korea and from Korea to Vietnam. According to the Coffelt Database, Robert started his tour on May 18, 1970 and died shortly after on June 4 when his unit was ambushed in Cambodia. Jurgen said he knew his brother was shot, but he does not know where on his body and with what type of weapon.

“My mother went to Germany to visit family when we got word that he had died,” Jurgen said. “My wife and I had a tough time telling her about it, but we decided to wait until she got back to tell her in person.”

According to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website, Staff Sergeant Robert Erick Uthemann is now buried in Fort Sheridan Post Cemetery in Fort Sheridan, Illinois.

Fast-forward to the present day.

Although the brothers had their own separate lives apart from each other and although they did not have many memories together, it was evident through conversation that Jurgen still cares much about his brother, Robert. The family vacation story that he did tell, though, brought about much joy and laughs. On the other end of the spectrum, his memory of when he found out Robert had died also evoked much emotion, as he did choke a bit trying to make sense of the words he was saying.

“I don’t have any regrets, and he didn’t have any,” Jurgen said. “We both subscribed to the same idea. Life is just a slow death. In other words, you get older and eventually die.”