A Women’s Army Corps recruiter, Mabel Althea Von Arx encouraged other women to step forward and become part of the force that helped turn the tide in WWII.

When Mabel Althea Von Arx was born in 1914, she was the eighth and last child of the family. She was known as “Althea” in her various records. Althea’s parents were Edward Willert Von Arx and Alnola “Allie” Van Tine Von Arx.

Edward and Allie were married in 1890 when he was 26 and she was 16. Edward was a first generation American, born in Illinois, and whose parents came from Germany. Allie was a native Missourian. Edward worked as a tailor to support the family. By the 1900 census, the couple already had four daughters: Jessie “Lorene” Von Arx Hawkins, 1890, Ruth E. Von Arx Krieger (or Grieger), 1893, Louise M. Von Arx Cooley, 1896, and Josephine “Rose” Von Arx Evans, 1899.[i] They lived in a rental home at 1510 Minerva Avenue in the Independent City part of St. Louis, Missouri.

During the next decade, the family grew with the birth of Helen M. Von Arx Cheak in 1901. After five girls, Edward and Allie finally had a son in 1904 and they named him after his father, Edward Willert Von Arx Jr. Sadly, when little Edward Jr. was four, he died. The following year, they had another boy and named him Edwin Willert Von Arx.

The Minerva Avenue rental house was still the family’s home in 1910. A young servant, Katie Lambing, 16, from Austria, lived with them. Edward is still a tailor but now owns his own shop. The oldest daughter, Lorene, is 20 and teaching music in a conservatory. Daughter Ruth, 17, is at home. Louise, Rose, and Helen were in school.

So, when Althea was born in 1914, her mother, Allie, was 40. Althea had siblings waiting for her who were 24, 21, 18, 15, 13, and 5. The following year, Lorene, the oldest marries on December 23, 1915 to Milton H. Hawkins.

By 1920, the family had moved to a different house but stayed on their familiar street, Minerva Avenue. The two-story brick home was built in 1892. Lorene is no longer at home, but all the rest of the children are there. Edward is still a tailor. Louise is a secretary at an advertising agency while Rose works operating a Dictaphone, an early voice recording machine. The youngest Von Arx’, Helen, Edwin and Althea are still in school.

In the 1930s, the family finally owned their own home. They’d moved 3.5 miles away to the University area of St. Louis. Only Althea, Rose and Edwin are at home. Althea is in high school.[ii] Rose works operating a complometer, which was an early battery powered, hand-held, electronic calculator. Edwin works in the office at the St. Louis Merchant’s Exchange, a commodity trading exchange similar to the Chicago Board of Trade.

Althea finished three years of high school according to her enlistment record. This puts her at about age 16 to 17 when she enters the workforce.

HER LIFE BEFORE MILITARY

Things take a drastic turn at home for her when her father, Edward, dies in 1933. All the eight children were now adults with Althea, the youngest being 19.

As the war years loomed, 1940 sees Althea, an adult of 26, living with her mother and two adult siblings in a rental home on Clemens Avenue. In the house are her sister Helen Von Arx Cheak, 38, now widowed, and her daughter, Nancy, age 8. Her single brother, Edwin, 31, and her widowed mother, Allie, round out the household. Allie is keeping house for them as Nancy attends elementary school and the others work. Edwin as a salesman at a laundry company and Helen as a stenographer for a grocery store.

Althea had a job as an office clerk with a construction manufacturing firm,[iii] which according to the St. Louis newspaper was McDonnell Aircraft, which in later years became known as McDonnell-Douglas. Althea’s making almost twice as much as her siblings.[iv]

HER MILITARY STORY

Mabel Althea Von Arx enlisted on February 13, 1943 in St. Louis. Her service number was A-700665. At some point, after finishing basic training for the WACs, Women’s Army Corps, she was assigned to New England. (Some of the records from the time of her service refer to her as Mabel and others, such as newspaper clippings, refer to her as Althea.)

Sergeant Althea Von Arx was working as a recruiter in the Newport, Rhode Island area. She attended events and made speeches to young women on the work and methods of the WACs. [v]

On December 17, 1943, Althea headed home in time for the seasonal holidays. According to the Newport Mercury newspaper, she took a furlough at her home in St. Louis, Missouri.[vi]

Early January of 1944, Althea was back at her assignment as a recruiter. Althea was garnering publicity for her work in recruiting WACs. In January of 1944, she was spending every Tuesday in a newly opened enlistment center at the Chamber of Commerce in Newport, Rhode Island taking applications.[vii]

New England was soon to be far away for Althea. Her hometown newspaper, The Saint Louis Star and Times reported Sergeant Althea Von Arx would soon be on duty in the East Indies.[viii] She flew on a C-46 from Holland to Leyte, Philippines.[ix] Her rank was TEC4.

HER LAST DAY

On her last day, Mabel was aboard a C-46D to make a routine cargo run from Guam to Tacloban Field in Leyte, Philippines.[x]

The flight that day was aboard C-46D (#44-77353), a plane assigned to the 5th Air Force, 54th Troop Carrier Wing, 433th Troop Carrier Group, 67th Troop Carrier Squadron operating in the Southwest Pacific theater.[xi]

On that flight were members of the 67th Squadron, 433rd Troop Carrier Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces. The pilot that day was First Lieutenant Robert W. McCullough of Pennsylvania. The other crew members included Co-Pilot Second Lieutenant Ray F. Cochran from Michigan, Navigator Second Lieutenant Daryl W. Porter of Pennsylvania, Engineer Tech Sergeant Oliver E. Smiley of Maryland, Assistant Engineer Corporal Theron S. Hensel of Pennsylvania, and Radio Operator Sergeant Clifford E. Trainor of California.[xii]

Althea was along as a passenger as were TEC4 Donald R. Antreter of California and TEC5 Jacob F. Dickson of New Jersey.[xiii] The plane also carried some cargo.[xiv]

It took off from Guam at 13:26 LT. There was one last routine radio contact with the Guam air traffic controller. After that, the plane was never seen again.[xv] They were lost without a trace over the west part of the Pacific Ocean.[xvi]

Mabel Althea Von Arx was 31.

COMMENDATIONS

World War II Victory Medal

American Campaign Medal

Army Presidential Unit Citation

Army Good Conduct Medal

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal[xvii]

MEMORIALS

Sergeant Mabel A. Von Arx is remembered on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery in Manila, Philippines.[xviii]

In 1945, the WAC headquarters in Manila, Philippines was named Camp Von Arx in honor of Sergeant Mabel Althea Von Arx who was declared dead after going missing in action.[xix]

RESEARCH NOTES

Research was a bit difficult because her official military records list her as Mabel A. Von Arx. Yet, in U.S. Census records, her parents listed her as Althea. In newspaper accounts of her time in the WACs she is always Althea. However, the accident report of her death uses Mabel and Mabel is the name of the WAC headquarters in the Philippines. The research confirmation that Mabel A. and Althea are one and the same person include: Both have a mother named Alnola Von Arx and only one woman was discovered with the name Alnola in this period. Alnola had a baby girl in 1914, a date used under the name Althea and under Mabel. Both names are found in St. Louis records. Both names are found as WACs and both names are found under secretarial job descriptions.

ABOUT THIS STORY

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

ADD TO THIS STORY

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[i] https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4118863_00883?pId=76503317

[ii] https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/m-t0627-02211-00322?pId=87258856

[iii] https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/m-t0627-02211-00322?pId=87258856

[iv] St. Louis Star and Times November 3, 1944

[v] Newport Mercury newspaper October 29, 1943

[vi] Newport Mercury newspaper December 24, 1943

[vii] Newport Mercury newspaper January 21, 1944

[viii] St. Louis Star and Times November 3, 1944

[ix] St. Louis Post Dispatch December 5, 1945

[x] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56780619/mabel-a-von_arx

[xi] http://curtisscommando.e-monsite.com/pages/aircraft/s-n-44-77295-to-44-77443-curtiss-c-46d-5-cu-commando/commando-44-77353.html

[xii] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56780619/mabel-a-von_arx

[xiii] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56780619/mabel-a-von_arx

[xiv] http://curtisscommando.e-monsite.com/pages/aircraft/s-n-44-77295-to-44-77443-curtiss-c-46d-5-cu-commando/commando-44-77353.html

[xv] http://curtisscommando.e-monsite.com/pages/aircraft/s-n-44-77295-to-44-77443-curtiss-c-46d-5-cu-commando/commando-44-77353.html

[xvi] https://www.baaa-acro.com/aircraft/curtiss-c-46-commando?page=45

[xvii] https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=357491

[xviii] https://www.fold3.com/page/529989932/mabel-a-von-arx/facts

[xix] St. Louis Post Dispatch December 5, 1945

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Arx Mabel A Von Arx