Poindexter, Opal L, Staff Sergeant

Scott Field (Now Scott Air Force Base), Illinois

US Army Air Force, WW II, Service Number 6285439

Opal L Poindexter was born in Ramona, Washington County, Oklahoma on 1 July 1908. His father was James Earl Poindexter (1884-1920) from Missouri. He worked as a Railway Postal Clerk, who traveled widely sorting and processing mail. His mother was Alice Creech Poindexter (1883-1974) from Oklahoma. She was on the Cherokee tribal rolls. Alice was a homemaker and a practical nurse. Opal had one brother (William 1910-1976) and a sister (Zelma Florence 1915-2008). The family lived in Talala, Rogers County, Oklahoma in 1920. In 1930, Alice was widowed and living in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.

Opal attended school through the 8th grade and soon joined the Navy for 4 years. After leaving the Navy, he lived in Everett, Massachusetts where he worked as an engineer at the East Boston (now Sumner) tunnel. He also worked as a driver for Happy Homes Bakeries. He married the former Natalie Blanche Quinton (1910-1990) in 1930 in Everett. She and her family had emigrated from Newfoundland, Canada to the Boston area in 1927. Netta, as she was known, was working as an inspector in a rubber factory. Around 1935, Opal joined the US Army Air Corps. In 1935 he was assigned to Ft Sam Houston, TX. By 1940 he was assigned at Chanute Air Base, Illinois and living in nearby Rantoul. Chanute served as a technical training base and Opal had been trained as a radio operator. By 1941, he was assigned to Scott Field, Illinois, near St Louis, where he was a radio operator with the Twelfth School Squadron. He and Netta were living on base at the Scott Plaza Housing Area.

On 27 December 1941, SSG Opal L. Poindexter was killed in a head on collision with another car near Scott Field. Opal was riding in a car driven by Corporal Arnold Mueller, who was also killed. The second car was driven by an airman, who was injured and taken to the hospital at Scott Field. Both cars were totaled. The place of the accident is listed as Caseyville, St. Clair County, Illinois. He was 33 years old.

Since he entered the service from Oklahoma, SSG Poindexter is listed in the World War II dead from Washington County, Oklahoma. His death is classified DNB, Dead-Non-Battle. This category was used for death for all types of accidents and illness/disease

His wife, Netta, accompanied his body to Everett, Massachusetts. His funeral was held at the Grace Episcopal Church and he was buried at Glenwood Cemetery. The Rev Herbert Johnston officiated and funeral arrangements were made by J Henderson Company.

Researcher’s Note: His parents gave Opal a female name, which caused confusion in some later records. His parents may have listed Opal as a female in the 1920 census or more likely the census taker assumed a girl by the name. The Ancestry.com family genealogy lists Opal Poindexter as a daughter of James and Alice too. To make matters even more confusing, there was an Opal L Poindexter (female) living in Enid, Oklahoma at about the same time.

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 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen

saved on Together We Served and Fold3 web sites. Can you help write these

stories? These stories will be accessible via smartphone app at any war

memorial or cemetery. If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact Richard Grauel at richard.grauel@verizon.net Date: 6/24/2023

Sources:

-“James E. Poindexter” in the 1920 US Federal Census”, Talala, Rogers County, Oklahoma

-“Alice Poindexter” in the 1930 US Federal Census, Sand Springs, Oklahoma

- Zelma Florence Poindexter, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/family-tree/person/tree/108720812/person/420136362258/story

-“Netta B. Quinton” in the 1930 US Federal Census. Everett, Massachusetts

-“Opal L Poindexter” in the 1940 US Federal Census, Rantoul, Champagne, Illinois

-SSG Opal L Poindexter, Find A Grave Memorial ID152054797 , https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/152054797/opal-l-poindexter

-“SGT Opal L Poindexter, 33, and Corp Arnold E. Mueller, 24, Dead” Belleville, Illinois Daily Advocate, 29 Dec 1941

-“Opele Poindexter, Army Officer, Killed in Illinois”, Everett, Massachusetts Evening News Gazette, 2 January 1942.

-“Poindexter, Opal L” in the WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualty List https://www.fold3.com/image/310952949?rec=30070902