Robert Kenneth Zerwekh was born in Davenport, Iowa on February 5, 1911; his family moved to Madison soon thereafter. After his parents separated, his mother changed his name to Kenneth Smythe Zerwick; he would go by that name until after his military service, when he reverted to his birth name. In 1929 Kenneth and his brother Otto took a seven-month tour of Europe, which was still recovering from the effects of World War I. Upon returning home, Zerwekh began attending college at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, where he joined the ROTC. He remained there for four years in pursuit of a degree in mechanical engineering, which he did not receive. In July 1942 Zerwekh entered the United States Army. He became an officer in the 3546th Ordnance Medium Automotive Maintenance Company, which was part of the 1st U.S. Army. He remained stateside until January 1945, when he was shipped to the European Theater. He remained in Europe until August 1945, serving in several major battles, including the Rhineland. As a 1st lieutenant, Zerwekh was in charge of supervising supplies for jeeps, inspecting the vehicles, and advising commanding officers of major transport problems. After the war, he remained in the Army Reserves until April 1953. As a civilian, Zerwekh worked as a mechanical engineer for the Wisconsin Brick and Block Company in Madison, a business owned by his maternal uncle. He passed away in 1990.
