A Hero for the Ages-

Former Air Base Namesake Frederick Castle’s Story of Bravery

Brigadier General Frederick Walker Castle, namesake for the former Castle Air Force Base. Photo; National Medal of Honor Museum on-line data base (MOHMUSEUM.ORG)

It’s been thirty years since the decision to close the Castle Air Force Base in Atwater, California sent shockwaves through the community.

At the time, there were fears of economic collapse as the region’s then largest employer would be decommissioned as part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Act.

Castle closed, the Air Force left, the community saw the site repurposed for economic development purposes, and the memory of the man for whom the Air Base was named began to fade.

The Brigadier General Frederick W. Castle permanent exhibit at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, CA. Photo: Steve Newvine

That man, Brigadier General Frederic Walker Castle continues to be remembered within the gates of the Castle Air Museum.

A permanent exhibit honors the man. His story is also recalled in the newly opened National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington Texas. 

The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military honor. It is awarded by the President on behalf of the Congress to those who have shaped our nation’s military with their acts of valor, humanity, patriotism, and sacrifice. 

The Medal of Honor Museum’s on-line data base describes the heroics of Frederick Castle. General Castle commanded troops and two-thousand bombers in a strike over Germany on Christmas Eve, 1944. 

While on the way to the target, the plane he was in, the lead aircraft, experienced engine failure. The General was forced to give up the plane’s place at the head of the formation.

Ejection was the only solution to save the crew. But giving up the plane might have resulted in endangering friendly troops below.

The General refused to jettison the plane’s bombs and that decision, as expected, kept the speed of the plane lower than what was needed to escape enemy attack.  

His plane was hit several times, starting a fire in the oxygen system and wounding two crew members.

Soon fires broke out in two engines, leaving the B-17 Flying Fortress in danger of exploding. 

It was hopeless. So the General ordered his crew to bail out, and remained with the plane. One more hit exploded the plane’s gas tanks on the right wing. It crashed killing the General and his pilot. Two of the eight men who parachuted out of the plane also died.

Among the icons from the life of Brigadier General Frederick W. Castle at the Castle Air Museum is the General’s Medal of Honor. Photo: Steve Newvine

For the willing sacrifice of his life to save the members of his crew, Frederick Castle was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

As the on-line description reads, the General’s actions “Were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.”

Two years his death, the air field in Atwater was named Castle Field in honor of the General’s service. A year after that, the name became Castle Air Force Base.

“It did not change to Castle Air Force Base until late in 1947 after the Air Force became a separate service from the Army,” says Castle Air Museum Chief Executive Officer Joe Pruzzo.

The Castle Air Museum has been preserving US military history since it was started three decades ago. Among the aircraft on the site is a B-17 Flying Fortress painted to look just like the one General Castle flew.

This B-17 Flying Fortress was painted to look just like the aircraft that General Frederick Castle flew in World War II. It is on display at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater. Photo: Steve Newvine

Inside the permanent exhibit building, a collection of items from the General’s career are on display. “The exhibit highlights artifacts related to his life and career,” Joe Pruzzo says. “Including his Medal of Honor, awarded posthumously.”

The Castle exhibit includes the General’s uniform as well as his father’s World War I uniform. Pieces of the aircraft retrieved from the crash scene are also on display.  

Perhaps the most touching item is a bronze plaque that represents the letter to the General’s wife Winifred explaining what happened, and how highly regarded Castle was held by his friends as well as soldiers under his command:

“..his host of friends were legion. He not only established a superior record for himself in the AAF, but had gained the admiration and respect as well as friendship and affection of his comrades.”

Also of interest is the fact that General Castle never flew into the airfield in Atwater in the years leading up to his death.  

His was a life of selfless service to the men under his command and to his nation. His example was recognized by our nation with the Medal of Honor.

His story is told along with the other three-thousand, twenty-nine recipients in the National Medal of Honor Museum in Texas.  

In Merced County, his name continues to define our community’s foundation of a resource in the arsenal to protect our homeland.

The grounds of our former military base, as well as our military history museum, bear his name and honor his service. –

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

He is speaking on his latest book about Jack Benny and Johnny Carson at the May 21 meeting of the Merced Rotary Club.

You may reach him at SteveNewvine@SBCGlobal.net

His books are available locally at the Merced County Courthouse Museum gift shop, Bookish in Modesto, and on line at Jack & Johnny (lulu.com)

National Medal of Honor Museum: MOHMuseum.org

Castle Air Museum: CastleAirMuseum.org