#VeteranOfTheDay Navy Veteran Raymond Marx

Raymond John Marx was born in July 1946 and dedicated his life to the Navy, IT management and invention. He grew up with his mother and brother, and attended Mt. Pleasant High School in Schenectady, New York. At Mt. Pleasant, he conducted military preparatory training through the Naval reserve for seven months before graduating in 1964. After graduation, he spent a short season working as an aviation storekeeper at the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, North Carolina, but served in the Navy as an airman.

Throughout his career, he earned promotions and high security clearances, eventually achieving the rank of chief warrant officer four. One notable experience was working on the USS Vulcan. As a chief warrant officer four, he worked at Area 51. Notably, he helped in the invention and implementation of the 1/10/100 port along with other computer programming languages development.

After retiring from the Navy, Marx worked in IT. He started as a contractor, freelancing computer IT work until beginning a role for Tultex Textiles company. Here, he helped invent and develop the $7B robotic system that is still used for shipping and receiving goods today. The machine would also take inventory of individual items before repackaging them for further shipping without the use of employees. Later, he worked at Trex Composite Decking as its vice president of technology. He also opened the Whistling Hill Aviary in Callaway VA, caring for pet birds and making them available for adoption. Along with this, he opened “The Pet Stop” in Rocky Mount, VA, finally settling for over 20 years in Virginia Beach.

Marx had two children, Raymond and David; two grandchildren and two great grandchildren. He was an avid bike racer and loved to ride motorcycles. Other interests included model trains star gazing.

Marx died in May 2016 from lung cancer.

We honor his service.

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? You’re in luck! VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia(at)va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Writer: Sarah McDonald

Editors: Marisa Bunton, Ashley Shaut

Researcher: Loretta Knieff

Graphic Designer: Jaylon Buckles

This post, #VeteranOfTheDay Navy Veteran Raymond Marx, was originally published by the Veteran's Administration.