A Sharp Dressed Man
by Kevin Fritz
The year was 1951, and Staff Sergeant Marvin Broudy’s likeness was about to become synonymous with a new look for the U.S. Army. A member of the prestigious 1st Battalion, 3d Infantry Regiment, better known as The Old Guard, Marvin proudly served from 1949-1953, receiving much-deserved accolades and honors during those years.
“I was considered the sharpest soldier in B Company,” recalls Marvin, a Lake Mary resident who at age 95 still drives and is a fixture in his Timacuan community, strolling the sidewalks and waving to passersby. “They would tell others in the battalion to ‘tie their ties like Marvin does.’”
It was during his second year of service that Marvin received his most memorable honor. Marvin and fellow Sergeant George C. Woodbridge – who would eventually become an illustrator with MAD Magazine – were instructed to report to the U.S. Army Quartermaster in Fort Lee, Virginia, to be fitted for the Army’s new OG-107 uniform, OG meaning olive green. The two were photographed at the Pentagon and given the privilege of being the first to wear the new fatigues.
Marvin’s ultimate claim to fame, however, came in 1957 – five years after returning to civilian life. An Army buddy called to tell Marvin that his picture had been chosen to be the poster image for the new uniform, and he was featured in every Army manual. His impeccable appearance and perfect posture make it easy to understand why he was chosen to model the uniform.
“I was honored,” says Marvin. “I was shocked that they picked me. I didn’t have a hat on, and I needed a haircut. That still bothers me today!”
Army Strong
Born in 1928 in Newark, New Jersey, Marvin was not sure what he wanted to do after high school, so he tried to enlist in the military. However, a physical detected a heart murmur, and Marvin was sent home. Two years later, at age 20, he tried again and this time passed his physical.
“And look at me now,” he says. “The doctors all brag about me.”
Based out of the former Fort Myer in Arlington County, Virginia – now Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall – Marvin and his comrades fulfilled both the public burial and ceremonial duties of The Old Guard, as well as standing guard and escorting the president of the United States. The 3d Infantry, which dates to 1784 when it was formed by George Washington, is the oldest active-duty infantry unit in the Army. The Old Guard also provides security for Washington, D.C., in times of national emergency or civil disturbance.
Marvin recalls standing guard for President Harry Truman at a funeral in Arlington National Cemetery following a thwarted assassination attempt that left two soldiers dead. He was part of the welcoming committee for Princess Elizabeth’s visit in 1951, a year before she took the throne in England. He also guarded the historic Quarters 1 house at Fort Myer where General Omar Bradley and his wife Mary resided.
“I was the only one in our group that his wife would talk to,” recalls Marvin with a smile. “Funny, though, I never saw the general in all the times I guarded that house.”
After the service, Marvin and his wife Patricia, a Jersey girl who also served in the Army, moved back to his hometown of Newark before settling in Old Bridge, New Jersey, where they raised two sons and a daughter. He joined the Madison Park Volunteer Fire Company in 1956, serving 22 years, and is the sole surviving charter member of that organization.
As a civilian, he found success as the owner of Forshay-Gabriel Incorporated, a large automotive parts distribution company. In 2000, Patricia and Marvin retired to Lake Mary, in the same home he lives in today. Patricia passed away in 2011.
Marvin, a self-described walking history book, keeps connected with his past as an active member of The Old Guard Association’s Facebook page.
“The Old Guard shaped my life, but I am no hero,” says Marvin. “I helped bury the real heroes in Arlington National Cemetery, and that’s where the word honor belongs.”