Marvin Jay Overway
SGT in 3133rd Signal Service Co : Crew 11 Tank Commander
ASN#36402739
Born 1922 in MI, Died 2000
County of residence at enlistment: Ottawa County, MI
Other residence(s): Holland, MI; Hudsonville, MI; Spring Lake, MI
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: unskilled occupations in furnishing utilities, n.e.c.
College education before the war: Hope College, 2 years
College education after the war: Hope College, Univ. of Michigan
Marvin Overway was born on May 31, 1922 in Holland, MI, the sixth of seven children. His father was a driver for a transfer company; both of his grandfathers had been born in the Netherlands (as was typical of the Holland, MI population).
He graduated from Holland High School in 1940, and went on to study at Hope College in Holland. He had completed two years there before his military service intervened. Marvin was also a trumpet player, and earned some money playing in dance bands on weekends in western Michigan before the war.
Marvin had registered for the draft on June 29, 1942, just at the end of his sophomore year. He enlisted a few months later, on October 2, 1942; he was working at the time as a water tender in a local power plant. As part of his military training, he attended Signal Corps School in Laramie, WY as well as the Colorado School of Mines. He was eventually assigned to the 3133 Signal Service Company, and saw service with the unit in Italy during the war, serving as a tank commander.
Marvin's son John tells the story of one of his tank adventures: "When engaged in a deception closer to Bologna, my dad's M10 broke down and stopped running as they were being pulled out of the operation.The transporting column and security would continue without my dad's M10 and crew; they were ordered to wait until transport and security could return and bring them in . . . after daylight. They were broke-down in the open and in an area the Germans regularly reconned with aircraft. My dad and his crew believed they were sitting ducks, so they went to work on their M10, figured out the issue as the driver was a good mechanic, and came in without security. This earned my dad a reprimand by their commander who dressed him down pretty good verbally. His crew loved him though!"
Marvin Overway and Daphne Towson at their wedding in Caserta, Italy in 1946; courtesy Jon Overway
Marvin was discharged from the Army on March 29, 1946 but stayed in Italy with Daphne, taking a job with the State Department as a courier and radioman. According to his son, he remained in uniform as a civilian "as remnants of Italian Communists would not attack a US soldier."
Marvin and Daphne married on May 4, 1946 in Caserta, Italy in a double wedding ceremony. Their companion couple included a childhood friend of Daphne's who had also joined the ATS along with a member of the American Air Corps. After the wedding, Marvin and Daphne honeymooned in nearby Sorrento and Capri. It took about a year for her to get cleared to enter the US, and the couple returned to Holland, MI in June 1947. They would go on to have five children: Dana, Jon, Erin, Sara, and Michael.
Marvin used his GI Bill benefits to go back to college, earning a degree in chemistry and physics from Hope College in 1948. He got a job teaching science in Covert, MI for a year before transferring to the Zeeland schools in 1949. He also pursued a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Michigan, which was awarded in 1952. In addition, he took summer school courses at Tufts University in Medford, MA.
In the meantime, Marvin's wife Daphne earned her American citizenship in 1954 as well as bachelor's and master's degrees in special education. After working with special ed students for some years, she was honored by Ottawa County with an Excellence in Service Award for her work.
In 1956, Marvin left the Zeeland schools and took a job as a high school principal in Hudsonville where he would remain for 22 years—seven years as principal and 15 years as Superintendent of Schools. When he accepted the principalship, he requested to be allowed to teach the sciences for one class per day, so that he could continue to instill the love of science in the school's students. In 1978, he retired from the Hudsonville school system, and went to work at Northwood Institute (now Northwood University) in Midland, MI for the next six years.
Both Marvin and Daphne taught Sunday School at Grace Episcopal Church, and Marvin also served as a vestryman there. After the couple retired, they traveled extensively, including trips to Ireland to see her family and a sojourn to Italy to revisit the places where they met, married, and honeymooned.
A case with Marvin and Daphne Overway's photos, medals, etc.; courtesy Jon Overway
Marvin died on May 15, 2000 in Spring Lake, MI and was cremated. At his request, his ashes were sprinkled at a number of locations he loved—the remainder are in an urn next to his memorial case (see photo).
NOTE: Marvin's son tells this story about his father and the war. "Throughout the war, my dad never held ill will against anyone—they were all just trying to make it through the war alive. When he came home he kept his uniform for some time, and his service medals were in his dresser drawer. He never brought them out—I suppose because he couldn't talk about his job. He kept one other item, it was a German soldier's personal service ID. A proper German soldier, about my dad's age I would guess. Although my dad said very little about having this ID, I knew this German soldier was dead, and my dad knew how and where. My father kept this ID until his unit was declassified in 1996, then he found a competent German translator to help him write the family of this KIA German soldier. I believe [it was] to relate the circumstances of his death [so that they would] know what happened to their family member, and to return the service ID as proof of his message. My dad didn't hate anyone, not even the enemy he was fighting."
Sources:
1930 census
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/11314989:6224?ssrc=pt&tid=848569&pid=-1498668529
1940 census
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/84672990:2442?ssrc=pt&tid=848569&pid=-1498668529
1942 draft card
1942 enlistment record
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/8364427:8939?ssrc=pt&tid=848569&pid=-1498668529
1948 Hope College yearbook; includes photo
1948 article in the Holland Evening Sentinel (MI) about him and his wife's double wedding in Italy
https://www.newspapers.com/image/33935319/?match=1&terms=marvin%20overway
1960 Holland city directory
1964 article in the Holland Evening Sentinel (MI) about his being elected vestryman at Grace Episcopal Church
https://www.newspapers.com/image/11535357/?match=1&terms=marvin%20j%20overway
1965 article in the Holland Evening Sentinel (MI) about his teaching Sunday school
https://www.newspapers.com/image/34742603/?match=1&terms=marvin%20j%20overway
1969 article in the Holland Evening Sentinel (MI) about his profession and background (includes photo)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/18679903/?match=1&terms=marvin%20j%20overway
1993 public records index
2000 Social Security death index
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/46821955:3693?ssrc=pt&tid=848569&pid=-1498668529
2000 VA death record
2000 obituary in the Grand Rapids Press (MI)
2015 wife's obituary
https://obits.mlive.com/us/obituaries/grandrapids/name/daphne-overway-obituary?id=8342331
2024 (May 31) GALP Veteran Biography Worksheet from son Jon Overway
Writeup about his achievements on the Hudsonville Educational Foundation website