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RRobert August Muller Jr. was born on
November 12, 1910 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to parents, Robert Sr. and Lena (Munz)
Muller. Robert Sr. was a saloon operator in Philadelphia and Lena was a housekeeper. The
Mullers had 3 more children after the birth of Robert Jr. Frederick was born in 1912,
Francis in 1913, and William in 1916.
The family moved from 2215 South Third Street in South Philadelphia to 1107 West Kings
Highway in Mount Ephraim some time around 1915. Robert Sr. found new employment as a
shipfitter at a ship yard in Gloucester City.
On the morning of October 8, 1919, a piece of iron plating fell from an unknown height,
striking him in the head. The impact killed him instantly. He was only 43 years of age.
Lena would now have to be solely responsible for raising her 4 young boys.
Robert attended elementary school at St. Mary's Catholic School in Gloucester City from
first to eighth grade. By all accounts, the Muller boys were excellent students and
always made the honor roll. After graduating from St. Mary's, Robert moved on to Camden
Catholic High School where he only completed freshman year before dropping out in 1926
to join the work force.
He quickly found a work as a messenger boy for the Bell Telephone Company in
Philadelphia. His Uncle, Fred Munz was a cable splicer for the company and may have told
him that they were hiring. After three years of running messages, Robert wanted to climb
the company ladder so to speak. He wanted to move onto something more challenging and
give him an opportunity for a raise. Robert attended an eight-week course of specialized
training to become a telephone installer. With this new position, he would be
responsible for installation and maintenance of telephone station equipment, running
wiring inside and outside of the facility, switching key equipment, pay stations and
associated apparatus. The duties also included climbing telephone poles, and making
repairs to damaged equipment in emergency situations. This job would increase his
take-home pay to $56 a week. He would stay employed with Bell Telephone for 17 years.
Outside of work, Muller enjoyed fishing and music. He was also involved with the Mount
Ephraim Civil Defense as a member of the air raid warden unit.
Robert met a woman by the name of Katherine M. Levy of 15 Northmont Avenue. Her family
ran the Spread Eagle Inn, a local tavern situated at the corner of Kings Highway and
Market Street in town. The two hit it off and fell in love. On June 27, 1936, Robert
married Katherine at Sacred Heart Church in Camden, officiated by Reverend James E.
Moore. Margaret Green was the Maid of Honor and Robert�s brother Frederick was his best
man. The wedding reception was held back at the home of the bride�s father, Louis Levy
on Northmont Avenue. The newlyweds lived at 25 Eighth Avenue in Haddon Heights and then
118 Oswego Avenue in Audubon until purchasing a house at 122 Fifth Avenue in Mount
Ephraim in 1941.
The attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 affected all of America. Young men from
all over the country filled with patriotic pride went to their local recruiting stations
to join the armed forces. By early fall 1943, Robert�s name had been chosen by Camden
County Selective Service Board #4. This office, located at 4th and Oak Street in Audubon
oversaw the men who would be drafted into the military from the towns of Audubon, Haddon
Heights, Barrington, Runnemede and Oaklyn. He was selected by this board because he was
a resident of Audubon when registering for the draft.
Robert wanted to get into the Navy just as his brothers did. Instead of letting someone
else decide which branch of service he was placed into, he went to the Armed Forces
Induction Center in Camden on September 13th and joined the U.S. Navy Reserves. He
signed the enlistment papers and was put on inactive status. His brother Francis had
enlisted earlier on March 15, 1943 and Frederick joined on August 21, 1943. A farewell
party was held for Fred five days later at the Spread Eagle Inn. Mount Ephraim Mayor J.
Herbert Phillips was a guest speaker at the event. William had enlisted on August 13,
1935, long before the breakout of war.
Robert was recalled to active status on September 20, 1943 and sent to the Naval
Training Station in Bainbridge, Maryland. He arrived there later that day and began his
7 weeks of training as a Apprentice Seaman. At the end of his first week, he was
recommended for Aviation Electrician Mate School but unfortunately failed the required
eye test. By November 11th, Robert completed schooling at Bainbridge and was promoted to
Seaman Second Class (S2c). He was granted a nine-day leave and returned to see his wife
and mother in Mount Ephraim. When his leave was up, Robert reported on November 27 to
the Naval Receiving Station in New York City to be shipped to the Navy Operating
Facility (NOF #120) in Recife, Brazil for duty.
On December 8th, 1943, Seaman 2nd Class Robert A. Muller departed the New York Harbor
aboard the USS Antaeus (AG-67) sailing for the Caribbean. The ship arrived on December
16th and S2c Muller spent 5 days in Trinidad before boarding another ship, the USS Spry
(PG-64) on December 21st for the final leg of his journey to Brazil.
In the U.S. Navy, when a ship crosses the equator, a time-honored tradition takes place.
The ceremony observes a mariner�s transformation from slimy Pollywog, a seaman who
hasn�t crossed the equator, to trusty Shellback, also called a Son or Daughter of
Neptune. First, King Neptune and his royal court, Davy Jones, the royal baby, and other
dignitaries would arrive aboard the ship. Pollywogs then entertained the royal court
with a talent show. Following the show, Pollywogs received a subpoena from Davy Jones to
stand before the court and answer to charges brought against them by the Shellbacks.
Afterwards, the Pollywogs ate an unpleasant �breakfast,� consisting of some kind of
spicy food.
The accused Pollywogs would appear before King Neptune, who sat in judgment. They
performed a variety of activities which might involve wearing their clothes inside out
or backwards and crawling across the deck through objectionable debris, often the
uneatable breakfast that was served to them. The Pollywogs then kneeled before the King
and would have to �kiss" the royal baby�s belly. The royal baby was the most obese and
hairy sailor that could be found aboard the ship. His belly was usually covered in some
unpleasant substance. Lastly, the Pollywogs were required to take a royal bath in a pool
of sea water before being declared "Shellbacks," after which they receive their
certificate.
On December 30, 1943, the Spry had
crossed the Equator and S2c Muller had been duly initiated as a �Shellback.� Robert
arrived at the U.S. Naval Operating Facility in Recife, Brazil on January 5th 1944. He
received a commendation from Commanding Officer Lt. B.F. Uran stating that Muller proved
to be above average in duty while aboard USS Spry.
Recife was the main base for the surface ships of the Fourth Fleet which consisted of
destroyers, cruisers, service vessels and aircraft carriers. Numerous naval
installations were established in Recife, including the Headquarters of the Fourth
Fleet, Ibura Field (air field), barracks, a naval hospital, fuel, oil, & ordinance
storage depots, a ship repair facility and training centers. Ibura Field became the
second largest Brazilian-US air base and was used by squadrons from both countries.
The objective of the Fourth Fleet was to dominate the strategically important Atlantic
Narrows between Natal, Brazil and the Freetown � Accra portion of Africa by finding and
destroying Axis Power submarines and blockade runners who were funneling essential war
materials from the far-eastern Japanese empire through the South Atlantic Narrows
between Brazil and Africa into Europe. An additional purpose was to halt the sinking of
Brazilian and other Allied merchant ships by the Axis Power�s naval units. Because the
Mediterranean Sea was hazardous for Allied shipping, control of the South Atlantic
Narrows was strategically critical.
While serving at NOF #120, Muller was promoted on April 1, 1944, from Seaman 2nd Class
to Seaman 1st Class (S1c). Three months later, he was promoted again to Electrician�s
Mate 3rd Class (EM3c). This job required maintaining and repairing all electrical
circuits, wiring and equipment. A title that suited Robert well, thanks to his years of
experience working for the telephone company.
On December 9, 1944, Robert was working on one of the telephone poles at the naval base
when he lost his footing and fell off, striking his head. When help arrived, Robert was
found disoriented, excitable, irrational and in mild shock. He was admitted to the naval
hospital where x-rays revealed fractures in the skull and left knee cap. Muller later
slipped into unconsciousness for a spell of nearly 48 hours following the incident. Upon
sitting up on December 12th, Robert complained of a having a headache. A battery of
tests were performed to check the extent of his injuries.
His condition improved and Robert was removed from serious condition on December 31,
1944. A telegram was sent to both Lena and Katherine to inform them of the good news.
Clinical improvement was sufficient enough to allow surgery to repair the fractured knee
cap. The convalescence successfully continued until February 26th, at which time he
started to become drowsy and stuporous.
Doctors initially diagnosed Robert as suffering from chronic encephalitis on March 10th,
but two days later would change their diagnosis to a sub-dural hemorrhage. At the time,
it was noted that he had developed weakness on the left side of his body. The Navy
Department notified Lena and Katherine to update the two of the situation. Doctors were
again listing his condition as critical. There was nothing more the medical staff could
do with the ill-equipped facility in Recife. The order was given on March 21st to
evacuate Muller from Brazil to the nearest Naval Hospital in the United States. He was
transported by aircraft three days later to the Naval Hospital in Key West, Florida.
Doctors once again performed a complete physical examination. It was confirmed that
Robert had paralysis of the left side of his body.
After an emergency surgical procedure on March 29th, Robert's condition improved
rapidly. He regained full use of the left side of his body and was placed on an
intensive penicillin therapy. However, by April 13th, Robert took a severe turn for the
worse. He developed a marked tremor of his left hand and a fever, spiking his
temperature to 103�. These conditions persisted until Robert suddenly passed away at
3:27am on April 16, 1945. He was 34 years of age.
At the time of Robert�s death, all of his brothers were on active duty. Frederick was
serving as a Gunner's Mate 3rd Class (GM3c) aboard the USS O'Reilly (DE-330). This was a
destroyer escort which protected shipping convoys across the Atlantic Ocean and later
re-assigned to the Pacific Fleet.
Francis was a Boatswain 2nd Class (BM2) aboard the USS Warren (APA-53). The Warren was
an attack transport which ferried troops and cargo to locations throughout the Pacific
Theatre. After participating in several campaigns, the Warren was sent to Portland,
Oregon to be overhauled.
William was a Chief Signalman (CSM)
aboard the USS Westmoreland (APA-104). This ship was also an attack transport but was
commissioned too late into the war to participate in combat. It did eventually transport
servicemen back to the United States from the Philippines after the surrender of Japan.
William had been training off the coast of Hawaii at the time of Robert's passing.
Robert was survived by his wife Katherine (who would later marry to Harry A. Albinson,
Jr.), his mother Lena, and brothers Frederick, Francis, and William.
The viewing was held at McCann Funeral Home in Gloucester City on April 19, 1945. All
members of the Mount Ephraim Civil Defense were in attendance. Funeral services were
held the next day with High Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Mount Ephraim. His interment
was held directly afterwards at New St. Mary�s Cemetery in Bellmawr, NJ.
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