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Brigadier General Frederick Walker Castle, 38 Lake Drive. Many of us have seen his Congressional Medal of Honor in the Mountain Lakes library. Of course, the Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States.
He entered West Point in July of 1926, after attending Boonton High School where he was considered "a hero with his classmates when he was expelled for leading a student strike to protest the dismissal of the principal." At the time, Fred was President of his class, captain of the debating team, member of the football team and an honor student. During the period of his suspension, "he studied for the competitive examination for West Point, in which he won the highest mark in the state of New Jersey."
Immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Castle left the private industry to return to active duty. In London, Castle helped create the 8th Air Force to launch aerial attacks against the Nazis… but that wasn't enough for Castle. He then asked for active duty and took command of the 94th Bomber Group in which he led many important missions over Western Europe.
A recent Star Ledger article retells the incredible story of Castle's last mission. On Christmas Eve 1944, on his 30th combat mission, Castle was leading history’s largest airstrike consisting of 2000 heavy bombers over German targets. It was during the Battle of the Bulge, Germany's last-gasp effort to hold off the Americans. When Castle's ship was hit, the engines caught fire while while still over Allied-held territory in Belgium. "Castle crashed a 'Flying Fortress' still carrying its payload, rather than dump it on civilians and Allied troops. He also kept his plane in the air long enough to allow his crew to escape." He was only 36 years old.
World War II Causalities
Charles E. Butts David T Powell Edwin T Sanders Frederick Walker Castle Gilbert Cole
Gilbert H. Higgins Jr, Howard B. Larlee J. Gilbert Jones John V. Theim Quin P. Turkington
Robeson Sherrerd Thomas B. Stickney William M. Thompson W. Richard Fleming, Jr
Conflicts in which Lakers Served & Sacrificed
World War I World War II Korean War Vietnam War Post-Vietnam
WWII Propaganda film Mission Accomplished: The Story of the Flying Fortress (1942) chronicles bombing runs of B-17s over Europe.
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