In the Front Ranks of Gallant Men - Frederick W. Castle (1944)

BG Frederick W. Castle

 

Frederick Walker Castle was literally born into the U.S. Army on October 14, 1908 at Fort McKinley, Manila, Philippines, during his father’s first assignment after graduation from West Point. Already voted by his father’s classmates – including future Air Force chief Henry “Hap” Arnold - Class Boy of 1907 “Freddy” excelled at academics, graduating at the top of his West Point class (#7/241). In 1930 he was commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant in the prestigious Corps of Engineers, but soon transferred to the Air Corps. After flight training he reported for duty in October 1931 as a fighter pilot with the 1^st Pursuit Group. As the full force of the depression hit the Army, funds were severely limited, flight assignments dwindled, promotions were frozen, and the young pilot found himself assigned to the Civilian Conservation Corps. He grew dissatisfied and bored and on February 19, 1934 resigned from the Regular Army.

 

Hap Arnold, Curtis Lemay, Fred Castle

 

Over the next eight years, Fred Castle built a successful business career. Deeply involved in the manufacture of the Norden bombsight - the precision instrument upon which the emerging doctrine of Daylight Precision Bombing was largely based - Castle was clearly on the fast track to senior management. War changed everything and after Pearl Harbor he returned to active duty. At the beginning of 1942, BG Ira C. Eaker was assembling a small planning staff that became the nucleus of VIII Bomber Command in England and eventually Eighth Air Force, the largest ever assembled. On April 15, the headquarters, officially known as “Pinetree”, was established at the Wycombe Abbey Girls' School located near RAF Bomber Command.

  

Wycombe Abbey Girls School

 

Castle’s assignment was to prepare for the flood of airplanes and personnel that would soon begin arriving. In addition, like many others at HQ, Castle flew missions and eventually pressed Eaker for a combat assignment. An opportunity soon became available. The 94^th Bombardment Group had been particularly hard hit in the early days of the air war. Eaker transferred the group commander and give the job to Castle. He flew the dangerous missions and in a bid to gain trust ate his meals with his crews. In mid April 1944, he was promoted to command of the 4th Combat Bomb Wing (CBW), the largest in the Eighth Air Force, comprising five groups, including his own 94^th BG.

94th Bomb Group Control Tower

 

Castle, only 36 years old, was promoted to Brig. General on November 20, 1944, less than three years after returning to active duty as a 1st Lieutenant. As one of the architects of American air power, his place in the future independent Air Force was secure. In spite of his rank, however, and the risks, he continued to fly. On December 16, 1944 the Germans launched their last major offensive in the West, the “Battle of the Bulge.” By Christmas Eve, they had come pretty close to their initial objectives. That night, the 3rd Air Division, including the 4^th CBW, assembled over England and dispatched 2,000 heavy bombers escorted by 900 fighters and attacked the German airfields and communications facilities west of the Rhine. Fred Castle’s B-17 was shot down. Rather than jettison his bombs over civilians, he rode the stricken bomber to his death.

The Christmas Eve Mission, 1944

That night Hap Arnold wrote a letter to his classmate and friend, Ben Castle, to tell him that his only son was missing and presumed dead. For his heroism, Castle was awarded the Medal of Honor, becoming the highest-ranking officer in the Eighth Air Force to receive the honor, and the last of the unit’s seventeen recipients. For decades afterward, and until they were old men, those who formed that initial planning group at the girl’s school in England during those grim days, held a reunion and drank a toast to Castle. "Aim at the highest ... at least you will soar."

Treble Four