Arnold "Mickey" Richardson White
Mickey is by far the most interesting and intriguing character of the bunch. I remember my mom speaking fondly of him and she often said other than Bob (Wagner) he was her favorite step father. He is also, by far, the one of her husbands whom I have the most information on while still really never knowing what happened to him in the end.
Arnold Richardson White was born 18 July 1907 to the parents of Albert Roscoe White and Alice May Richardson.
His father was a lawyer in Taunton, Mass according to letters in my possession and documents that I have.
While records for this time period remain mostly private, I can ascertain from my own collection what his life was like.
He attended Cohannet Grammer School in Taunton, Mass from 1917 to 1920 and Taunton High School from 1920 -1923. He studied at the Private Moses Brown College Prep school in Rhode Island from 1923 - 1925 then went on to Boston University -C.B.A.(College of Business Administration) from 1925-1926 and finished at Suffolk University from 1929 - 1933 majoring in Law with an LLB degree (Bachelors in Law). He first was married to Edna McNair whom he married in Rhode Island.
He first worked at Hood Rubber Co. in East Watertown, Mass from 1926- 1930 and left there to Work in the Insurance Company division of his father's office after his father's passing in 1931 - J. R. Tallman & Co., Inc in Taunton where he worked from 1930 to 1942 when he was called to Active Duty.
I do not know how Mickey and Beth met, (I assume through the Greenville, Mississippi Army Air Force Base somehow) but I know they corresponded for quite a while during their respective divorces. They married 24 May 1946 in Greenville, Mississippi, but I believe they resided in Taunton for most of what was their marriage.
Arnold Richardson White was born 18 July 1907 to the parents of Albert Roscoe White and Alice May Richardson.
His father was a lawyer in Taunton, Mass according to letters in my possession and documents that I have.
While records for this time period remain mostly private, I can ascertain from my own collection what his life was like.
He attended Cohannet Grammer School in Taunton, Mass from 1917 to 1920 and Taunton High School from 1920 -1923. He studied at the Private Moses Brown College Prep school in Rhode Island from 1923 - 1925 then went on to Boston University -C.B.A.(College of Business Administration) from 1925-1926 and finished at Suffolk University from 1929 - 1933 majoring in Law with an LLB degree (Bachelors in Law). He first was married to Edna McNair whom he married in Rhode Island.
He first worked at Hood Rubber Co. in East Watertown, Mass from 1926- 1930 and left there to Work in the Insurance Company division of his father's office after his father's passing in 1931 - J. R. Tallman & Co., Inc in Taunton where he worked from 1930 to 1942 when he was called to Active Duty.
I do not know how Mickey and Beth met, (I assume through the Greenville, Mississippi Army Air Force Base somehow) but I know they corresponded for quite a while during their respective divorces. They married 24 May 1946 in Greenville, Mississippi, but I believe they resided in Taunton for most of what was their marriage.
Military Service
At some point he was in the military. Probably beginning in or around 1942 although I do not have his original entrance papers. There are identification cards starting about that time beginning with a 1st Lt in the Army Air Force (AAF) and his Personal History Statement which shows "Called to Active Duty" in this time frame. He would have been 38 years old.
Many of his Identification cards have special clearances and I assume he was promoted quite quickly through the ranks. By 1945 he was an Intelligence Officer, 1946 a Captain / Regional Provost Marshal, and before 1954 was issued a Major ID Card with "Indefinite" in the expiration date area of the US Air Force Reserves card.
Upon exiting the active duty during the war, he went back to J. R. Tallman & Co, Inc. and was employed as the President. He progressed through the Firm as Special Agent in the insurance field and for the AAF with special clearances during war emergencies. He was well traveled and obtained a passport. There are many documents related to his service and his Special Agent clearances in these files. One of interest to me was a hand made playbill from Greenville Air force Base in January 1946 after the war ended. This was a POW camp and while the war was ended many months prior, Prisoners of War had to go through extensive citizenship acknowledgements as well as if they were citizens prior to the war, swearing oath of allegiance a second time and declaring their loyalties to this country. During that transition time, Camps, while still Prisons, were given certain freedoms and since the war was officially over, the spirit was more relaxed. This is shown by this playbill put on by the prisoners just shortly after the New Year.
He was a member of the Masons, Elks, Lions, Segregansset Country Club, New England Assoc. of Fire Chiefs, Union League Club of San Francisco, Mass., Bar Association, Taunton Bar Association, Artists and Writers Club of Cleveland, Ohio, Taunton Board of Fire and Casualty Insurance Agents, and Air Forces Association.
Many of his Identification cards have special clearances and I assume he was promoted quite quickly through the ranks. By 1945 he was an Intelligence Officer, 1946 a Captain / Regional Provost Marshal, and before 1954 was issued a Major ID Card with "Indefinite" in the expiration date area of the US Air Force Reserves card.
Upon exiting the active duty during the war, he went back to J. R. Tallman & Co, Inc. and was employed as the President. He progressed through the Firm as Special Agent in the insurance field and for the AAF with special clearances during war emergencies. He was well traveled and obtained a passport. There are many documents related to his service and his Special Agent clearances in these files. One of interest to me was a hand made playbill from Greenville Air force Base in January 1946 after the war ended. This was a POW camp and while the war was ended many months prior, Prisoners of War had to go through extensive citizenship acknowledgements as well as if they were citizens prior to the war, swearing oath of allegiance a second time and declaring their loyalties to this country. During that transition time, Camps, while still Prisons, were given certain freedoms and since the war was officially over, the spirit was more relaxed. This is shown by this playbill put on by the prisoners just shortly after the New Year.
He was a member of the Masons, Elks, Lions, Segregansset Country Club, New England Assoc. of Fire Chiefs, Union League Club of San Francisco, Mass., Bar Association, Taunton Bar Association, Artists and Writers Club of Cleveland, Ohio, Taunton Board of Fire and Casualty Insurance Agents, and Air Forces Association.