Arthur Muller - U.S. Navy 1942-45

Arthur S. Muller (1921-2022) joined the Navy in 1942 and was assigned to Eastern Sea Frontier Headquarters. Art eventually volunteered for PT(Patrol Motor Torpedo Boat) duty and was trained as a Motor Mechanic. After training Art was assigned to Ron 17 in New Orleans on PT 230 eventually transferring to PT 227 as a Motor Mac and 1st loader on the 40mm gun at Pearl Harbor. After leaving Hawaii, PT 227 went from New Guinea to Mios Woendi and left from Leyte for the invasion of Mindoro. The Battle of Mindoro lasted 3 days, Dec 13-16, 1944. The invasion convoy had a fight off heavy Japanese air attacks, including kamikazes. Their mission was a success and lead to the creation of the Mindoro airstrip which allowed U.S. aircraft to provide direct support for the Luzon invasion.

While stationed at Pearl Harbor Art shared a photography shop where he was able to develop and collect the majority of the photography show in this story.

After the war Art and his wife Irene settled in Water Mill, NY where Art served as postmaster for 30 years.

Arthur Stanley “Art” Muller, Jr., of Water Mill, New York, passed away on September 30, 2022 at his home in Water Mill. He was 101.

Art was born in Bronx, New York to Arthur Stanley Muller and Olga Marie Nelson Muller on September 6, 1921. He grew up in Baldwin, New York, and graduated from Baldwin High School before joining the U.S. Navy in 1942. He trained as a Motor Mechanic, serving on P.T. Boats (Patrol Motor Torpedo Boats) in the Pacific during World War II, where he saw action in the Battle of Mindoro.

Art spent many childhood vacations at Roses’ Camps on the Mill Pond in Water Mill, where he met a local girl, Irene Corwith. Art and Irene were married in April 1945, while Art was home on leave from the Navy. Upon his return from his time in the service, Art accepted the position of Postmaster at the Water Mill Post Office, where he served as Postmaster for thirty years, retiring in 1976.

In 1966, Art received a Citation of Merit from the Postal Regional Director for his response to Lady Bird Johnson’s Natural Beauty Program. Art built flower boxes and added dividers to the Post Office window panes. He accepted the Citation on behalf of the Post Office and the Water Mill Community. Summarizing his career with the Post Office for a book published in 1996 by the Water Mill Museum, Art shared, “There are many reasons why I enjoyed my 30 years of service as postmaster but I think the opportunity to know and be friends with virtually all the people of Water Mill was the most rewarding.”

Before being offered the position of Postmaster, Art planned to study photography on the G.I. Bill. Although not his ultimate profession, he continued photography as a hobby throughout his life.

Art and his wife Irene made their home on the Mill Pond in Water Mill, where they raised four children, Sandy, Jeanne, Mosey, and Ricky. The Muller home was a gathering place for extended family, neighbors, and friends. There were ice skating parties in the winter, complete with a bonfire, gallons of hot cocoa, hand-me-down skates in all sizes, and flood lights to extend skating into the evening. In the summer there would be swimming, sailing, canoeing, and water skiing, and a bonfire in the evening. No matter the time of year, the gatherings would usually result in a sing-a-long around the bonfire, Art on his homemade washtub bass, and his brother Charlie on tenor guitar, singing the medley of pop and jazz songs they sang as children in the 1930s.

Annual family ski trips were another favorite way for Art’s extended family to spend time together. In retirement, Art and Irene spent time and welcomed many visitors to their rustic one-room-cabin in the foothills of the Green Mountains in New York’s Capital Region. There they used snowmobiles to collect sap in the spring and make maple syrup, and did most everything the old way without electricity or running water.

Art was a founding member of the Water Mill Community Club, and received the Club’s Founders Award, in recognition of his long-standing service to the Club and the community. He was a faithful member of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary R.C. Church where he volunteered in various roles, including as head money counter for many years, spending his Sunday and Monday mornings with a committee of volunteers to count and organize the Sunday offering. In 2014, Art received the St. Agnes Medal of Service recognizing a parishioner who exemplifies the spirit of service and sacrifice toward their church.

Art attended P.T. Boat reunions throughout the years and generously shared stories and memorabilia with the P.T. Boat Museum.

Art is survived by his sister, Barbara Ann Muller Cancellieri, of Southampton; his daughter Sandra M. “Sandy” Raynor (Joe), of Southampton, and their children: Diem, Ellen, Karen, Jill, Emily and Tommy; daughter Jeanne M. White (Tom), of Southampton and their children Jamie, Meredith and Kristin; son Arthur C. “Mosey” Muller (Kristina), of Water Mill, and their son Caleb; son Richard A. “Ricky” Muller (Jeanne) of Springs and their son Leland; eleven great-grandchildren, and countless nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his wife Irene Corwith Muller, his brother Charles Muller, and his sisters Olga Rabbitt and Marion Tassi.