Marvin Philip Udevitz

PFC in 3133rd Signal Service Co

ASN#17090020

Born 1923 in CO

County of residence at enlistment: Laramie County, WY

Other residence(s): Cheyenne, WY

United States Army, European Theatre of Operations

Occupation before the war: semiskilled occupations in manufacture of electrical machinery and accessories, n.e.c.

College education before the war: Univ. of Colorado 2 years

College education after the war: Univ. of Colorado

Notes: T/5 in 1944 Christmas Program

Source: 3133rd Program, 15 Sep 1944; WWII Army enlistment record; 3133rd roster from 10th Mountain Division Museum at Fort Drum; AES 1944 Christmas Dinner Program; 1930 census; 1942 draft card; 1949 University of Colorado yearbook; NASA website; 1993-1997 Las Cruces NM city directories; 2002 VA death record; Denver Post, 12/17/2002; history of Mt. Sinai Congregation. Cheyenne

Marvin Udevitz was born on March 10, 1923 in Denver, CO, the second of four children. His father had emigrated from Belarus, and his mother from England (her parents were Romanian.) The family moved to Cheyenne, WY later in the 1920s, where Marvin's father started the first bus company for public transportation. He was also a fur trader, working as part of a group called Wyoming Hide and Fur.

After he graduated from high school, Marvin went off to Boulder to study engineering at the University of Colorado. When he filled out his draft registration, on June 30, 1942, he said that he was working for his father at Wyoming Hide and Fur. He enlisted that fall, and was called to duty in April, 1943.

He served in Italy as part of the 3133 Signal Service Company, and was released from the Army in February, 1946. He then returned to the University of Colorado, where he completed his degree in electrical engineering, and was inducted into Sigma Tau, the engineering honor society.

Early in his career he worked in Wyoming and Alaska for the Bureau of Reclamation. He spent over 30 years in the aerospace industry, mostly in systems engineering with Martin Marietta in Denver, CO and Las Cruces, NM. He was particularly proud of his work on SkyLab (the first US space station) and the Viking Missions to Mars.

In June, 1955 he married Dorothy Dveirin, and they would go on to have two children: Mark and Debbie. According to his obituary in the Denver Post, "Marvin was devoted to his family and freely gave of his wide ranging knowledge and his considerable mechanical and technical skills to anyone who asked. He loved to camp, fish and boat. He took great joy in every day and in living life to its fullest."

He died on December 16, 2002, in Englewood, CO. He is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Commerce City, CO.

NOTE: Marvin's brother Norman was a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist for the Denver Post. So they both pursued investigations with different techniques and objectives!