Dorothy Robuck still remembers the day 65 years ago when the news arrived that her uncle, 21-year-old Donald Seutter of Fair Haven, had been killed in the war. Now an Annandale resident, she was 13 at the time and lived with her family in South Haven. "I remember the day, what it was like," she said. "I just remember … how our little town of South Haven was quite devastated." That was especially so because Seutter’s death on Jan. 21, 1945, occurred about the same time that two other area men – Arnold Lundeen of South Haven and Walter Brunko of Fair Haven – died in World War II. Memorial Day With Memorial Day coming up next week, Robuck and David Seutter of St. Cloud, who never knew his father in person, talked about him in interviews last week. Americans will honor Donald Seutter (pronounced Soy-der) and countless others who have given their lives for their country in ceremonies Monday, May 31, in Annandale and across the nation. Seutter was a ship’s cook second class in the United States Coast Guard aboard the USS Callaway in the South Pacific on Jan. 18, 1945, when the ship and others in a convoy were attacked by Japanese aircraft. "My dad had an assigned gunnery post and he was at that post," his son said. "His gunnery post took a direct hit." Seutter was wounded, and a hospital ship took him and others to Dutch New Guniea, but he died three days later. He was originally buried in Hollandia, Dutch New Guniea, but now lies in a national cemetery in the Philippines. An account of the memorial service for him at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fair Haven, now known as Concordia Lutheran Church, appeared in the Feb. 22, 1945, Advocate. Robuck, now 78, also recalled happier times when she was 10- or 11-year-old Dorothy Seutter. Donald would accompany his parents to South Haven to watch outdoor movies on Wednesday nights, and they’d stop by her family’s house to visit. "I used to tease him about girls, and he would get upset with me," she laughed. But it was good-natured and he’d get over it right away. Now 67, David Seutter was born in November 1942 and was only 2 years old when his father died. Though he never knew him, he learned about him from his mother, Mary Seutter, family and friends, including Donald Bluhm of Paynesville. Bluhm worked with his father as a cook on the Callaway. His mother died in 1992, and Bluhm died last year. "A wonderful stepfather," the late Loren Spaulding, saw to it that he had contact with his father’s family, Seutter said. "My dad was the youngest of 11," he said. He was born and raised in Fair Haven and graduated from Kimball High School in 1942. He was involved in many activities there including the Future Farmers of America, and he was in the band, Seutter said, describing him as "just an average kid." He married Mary Becker, a 1941 Annandale High School graduate, and David was their only child. He was drafted into the Coast Guard in April 1943, a few months before his 20th birthday. Seutter’s memorabilia of his father includes a photo of him in the bakery aboard the Callaway and a Purple Heart awarded posthumously for the injury that took his life. It goes without saying, according to Seutter, that he takes pride in the fact his father died for his country. But "I don’t mourn for him," he added. "I honor his service, yes, but life has to move on."
