Sergeant, US Army Air Force Women’s Army Corps, Alice Allaire Marks Stark

Born: July 21, 1921, Spring Lake, New Jersey

Died: March 13, 2014, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Sergeant Alice Marks Stark joined the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps on March 16, 1943, only three months before the auxiliary was removed from the corps name and it became the Women’s Army Corps.¹ She had her basic training at Daytona Beach, Florida before receiving training at the Army Administrative School. In August 1943, Marks Stark was assigned to Turner Field in Albany, Georgia as a radio operator at the post headquarters.² Turner Field, once known as the Air Corps Advanced Flying School, taught navigation, and not only to Americans but eventually to members of the Royal Air Force and the Air Corps of the Free French.³

By November 1943, Marks Stark was promoted to corporal.⁴ She would serve at Turner Field for the rest of the war, except for a brief period in 1944 when she was home in New Jersey serving at the Army Air Force (AAF) pilot school while visiting her family.⁵ Her dedication was rewarded sometime between September and November 1945 when she was promoted to sergeant.^6,7 Sgt. Stark would continue to serve her country as a military wife and as a civilian in the Army Corps of Engineers.⁸

Alice Allaire Marks was born in Spring Lake, New Jersey, to John and Ethel Marks on July 2, 1921. Tragically, her mother would die the following year.⁹ Her father remarried before 1930, but she would remain an only child as she grew up in New Jersey, graduating from Asbury Park High School.^10,11 While working as a secretary in the engineering department of New Jersey Light and Power, she met Lieutenant Louis K. Stark, who was studying at the Army Signal Corps School. They married in September 1942 on the eve of his departure overseas.¹² Lt. Stark spent most of World War II in Europe and Sgt. Marks Stark spent most of it at Turner Field in Georgia.

In 1946, when Marks Stark had been honorably discharged, her husband was stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington, his home state. While there, they had a second wedding, likely for his family.¹³ The war had made it impossible to start a family, but over the next years as they moved around, the Starks had three daughters and three sons.¹⁴ As a military wife, Marks Stark followed her husband as he moved from assignment to assignment. By 1950 they were in Champaign, Illinois, by 1953 it was Texas, and in 1955 it was Lincoln, Nebraska.^15,16,17

Happily, they spent several years in Nebraska before coming to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.^18,19 It was in Albuquerque that her husband retired in 1967 after 29 years of military service.²⁰ Sadly, the couple were to enjoy his retirement for only seven years before he passed away in January of 1974.²¹

While in Albuquerque, Marks Stark worked for the Selective Service System, Eldorado High School, and the Army Corps of Engineers.^22,23 After retiring from the Corps of Engineers, Marks Stark became active in the local branch of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, serving as its secretary and vice president.^24,25

Alice Allaire Marks Stark died on March 13, 2014, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Images & Documents

Notes:

1. “Cpl. Alice A. Stark: They Also Serve – With the Women’s Services.” Asbury Park Press. Asbury, New Jersey. 3 December 1943. p. 17.
2. “Afc Alice W. Stark Now Stationed at Turner Field.” Matawan Journal. Matawan, New Jersey. 5 August 1943. p. 5.
3. Freeman, Paul. “Air Corps Advanced Flying School/Turner Field.” Abandoned and Little Known Air Fields in Southwestern Georgia. Copyright 2021. Last updated: 5 October 2021.
4. “Cpl. Alice A. Stark: They Also Serve – With the Women’s Services.” Asbury Park Press. Asbury, New Jersey. 3 December 1943. p. 17.
5. “WAC Corporal Visiting Parents.” Asbury Park Press. Asbury, New Jersey. 23 March 1944. p. 2.
6. “Junior Women Send Boxes to Military.” Daily Record. Long Branch, New Jersey. 14 September 1945. p. 8.
7. “Welcome Home Heroes.” Daily Record. Long Branch, New Jersey. 20 November 1945. p. 3.
8. “Stark, Alice A.” Albuquerque Journal: Obituaries. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 16 March 2014. sec. B p. 5.
9. “Alice Allaire Marks Stark.” Find a Grave, memorial page for Alice Allaire Marks Stark (2 Jul 1921–13 Mar 2014).
10. “Marks.” Year: 1930; Census Place: Neptune, Monmouth, New Jersey; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 0091; FHL microfilm: 2341107.
11. “Marks.” Year: 1940; Census Place: Ocean, Monmouth, New Jersey; Roll: m-t0627-02368; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 13-137.
12. “Alice Marks Takes Vows.” Daily Record. Long Branch, New Jersey. 18 September 1942. p. 8.
13. “Stark/Stark Marriage 1946.” Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington Marriage Records, 1854-2013.
14. “Stark, Alice A.” Albuquerque Journal: Obituaries. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 16 March 2014. sec. B p. 5.
15. “Stark.” National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950.
16. “Beth Ellen Stark, 1953.” Texas, U.S., Birth Index, 1903-1997 Texas Department of State Health Services. Microfiche.
17. “Stark, Louis K (Alice).” Lincoln, Nebraska, City Directory, 1955.
18. “Standardization Check.” Jet Scoop. Lincoln, Nebraska. 14 June 1957. p. 5.

19 & 20. “5 AF Men Retired.” Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 11 February 1967. p. 8.

21. “Stark. Lt. Col. Louis K Stark.” Albuquerque Journal: Obituaries. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 4 January 1974. sec C p. 6.
22. “Community Briefs: Dinner Marks Anniversary.” Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 31 July 1985. sec B p. 11.
23. “Stark, Alice A.” Albuquerque Journal: Obituaries. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 16 March 2014. sec. B p. 5.
24. “Around Town: National Association of Retired Federal Employees.” Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 3 May 1992. sec. I p. 2.
25. “Community: Monday.” Albuquerque Journal: Westside Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 7 March 2001. p. 3.

Compiled by: A. D. McLean, MA, MLIS. Central New Mexico Community College, retired 2022.

Featured Image:

“Alice Allaire Marks Stark.” Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/126354406/alice-allaire-stark: accessed 26 July 2023), memorial page for Alice Allaire Marks Stark (2 Jul 1921–13 Mar 2014), Find a Grave Memorial ID 126354406, citing Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, USA; Maintained by KLeeStark (contributor 47260925).