Frederick Walker Castle Frederick Walker Castle ( October 14 , 1908 – December 24 , 1944 ) was a general officer in the U . S . Army Air Forces during World War II , and a recipient of the Medal of Honor . He was killed in action leading the bombing mission for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor . Background . Castle was born at Fort William McKinley in Manila , the Philippines , on October 14 , 1908 . The son of 2nd Lt . Benjamin F . Castle , Frederick Castle was the first child born to a graduate of the West Point Class of 1907 , thereby becoming the class godson . Among his godfathers in the Class of 1907 , also stationed in the Philippines , was 2nd Lt . Henry H . " Hap " Arnold , who would go on to become General of the Army , as well as the first and only General of the Air Force to date . Although a friend of Arnold and later becoming Aviation Attaché in Paris following World War I , Castle ' s father left the Army as a colonel in 1919 . Castle settled with his family in Mountain Lakes , New Jersey after World War I , and he attended Boonton High School and Storm King Military Academy . Castle entered the New Jersey National Guard on October 2 , 1924 , as preparation for attending West Point , scoring first on the Guard ' s competitive examination . He entered the U . S . Military Academy on July 1 , 1926 , graduating June 12 , 1930 , 7th in a class of 241 graduates . He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and was accepted for pilot training at March Field , California . After earning his wings on December 22 , 1931 , at Kelly Field , Texas , he served as a pilot in the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field , Michigan , before being assigned to the Civilian Conservation Corps . He resigned from the Army on February 17 , 1934 , to take a job with Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation , remaining a member of the Army Reserve . The business skills he developed with Allied brought him an offer to join Sperry Gyroscope Company in September 1938 as an assistant to the company president . Sperry was a military - related industry , and its work in developing both electrically powered gun turrets for bombers and the Norden bombsight brought him to the attention of his godfather , General Arnold , by then the Chief of the United States Army Air Corps . " Eaker ' s Amateurs " . Shortly after the United States entered World War II , Brigadier General Ira Eaker was made head of the prospective heavy bomber force slated to be stationed in England . Eaker was ordered to England in January 1942 and put together a small staff to accompany him . One member , Lt . Harris Hull , had worked for Sperry Gyroscope as a civilian and recommended Castle as an addition . Eaker had General Arnold recall Castle to duty as a captain on January 19 , 1942 , to be assigned to organizing bases and supply depots for the new Eighth Air Force . Eaker and his staff of six ( dubbed " Eaker ' s Amateurs " ) arrived in England by way of neutral Portugal on February 20 , 1942 . Within one month , Castle had been promoted to major , and on January 1 , 1943 he was promoted to full colonel , and he assumed the position of Air Chief of Supply ( A - 4 ) for the Eighth Air Force . Like many staff officers , Castle wanted a combat command and promoted himself to General Eaker to obtain one . In May 1943 , the Eighth Air Force had doubled the size of its bomber force from four to eight B - 17 Flying Fortress group s . In two of the new groups losses had been so severe at the outset that Eaker replaced their commanders with two members of his staff , one of whom was Colonel Castle . On June 19 , 1943 , Castle was given command of the 94th Bomb Group at Rougham ( Bury St . Edmunds ) , and while the morale crisis in the 94th was not as severe , the situation was very similar to one earlier that year in which Colonel Frank A . Armstrong had taken command of the 306th Bomb Group ( a situation which was the basis for the book , film , television series and comic book " Twelve O ' Clock High " ) . As with Armstrong , Castle experienced difficulties in raising the efficiency and training level of his group . He was aloof by nature and delegated many tasks to other officers , which were viewed initially by many in his command as weaknesses . He also was a novice bomber pilot , learning the task on the job as commander . Gradually , however , his leadership created positive results . On July 28 , 1943 , he led a deep - strike mission into Germany to bomb the Focke Wulf fighter manufacturing plant at Oschersleben . Poor weather conditions broke up the bomber formation , leaving the 94th Group and a few stragglers from other groups to attack the target alone . The incident was fictionalized in " Twelve O ' Clock High " , and Castle was awarded the Silver Star . Castle continued as commander of the 94th Bomb Group until April 14 , 1944 , when he was made commander of the 4th Combat Bomb Wing , a higher echelon that included his former group command . In November , his wing command was increased from three to five groups , and on November 20 , 1944 , he was promoted to brigadier general . Nazi Germany launched its Ardennes Offensive , known more familiarly as the " Battle of the Bulge " , on December 16 , choosing a week of particularly bad weather to disrupt superior Allied airpower . On December 23 , the weather began to clear and the next day the largest U . S . air strike operation of the war was launched from England , comprising 2 , 046 heavy bombers and 853 fighters . When the 4th CBW was assigned to lead the 3d Air Division , which in turn was to lead the entire Eighth Air Force on the mission , General Castle assigned himself to lead the wing . Medal of Honor action . On December 24 , 1944 , Castle flew as co - pilot on the lead aircraft of the 487th Bomb Group , RAF Lavenham , England , on his 30th combat mission . The mission fell fifteen minutes behind schedule because of problems assembling the massive force , and the 487th missed its rendezvous with escorting P - 51 fighters because the fighters were late in arriving due to the weather . The lead bomber also experienced an intermittent problem with one of its four engines and was attacked by German ME - 109 fighters while still over Allied - held territory in Belgium . Castle ' s bomber fell away from the formation almost immediately and he instructed the deputy commander by radio to take over the lead . The B - 17 struggled with control and moved some distance away from the protection of the bomber force , where it was again attacked . The pilots attempted to return to the bomber column but a third attack set both engines on the right wing on fire . Castle ordered the bomber abandoned but it spun into a dive . The pilots recovered from the dive and seven of the nine crewmen parachuted . The pilot was observed in the nose of the airplane hooking on his parachute , with Castle still at the controls , when the fuel tank in the burning right wing exploded , putting the B - 17 into a spin from which it did not recover , crashing near Hods , Belgium . Of the nine crewmen , five survived the crash . Frederick W . Castle was interred at the American Cemetery and Memorial at Henri - Chapelle , province of Liège , Belgium . Awards and decorations . Command pilot American Defense Service Medal World War II Victory Medal Croix de Guerre , with palm , Belgium Legion of Honor Virtuti Militari , Silver Cross Class V ( Poland ) Order of Kutuzov , 2d Class ( USSR ) Medal of Honor citation . Frederick W . Castle Rank and organization : Brigadier General . Assistant Commander , 4th Combat Bomb Wing , U . S . Army Air Corps . Place and date : Germany , December 24 , 1944 . Entered service at : Mountain Lake , N . J . Born : October 14 , 1908 , Manila P . I . G . O . No . 22 , February 28 , 1947 . " Citation " : He was air commander and leader of more than 2 , 000 heavy bombers in a strike against German airfields on 24 December 1944 . En route to the target , the failure of 1 engine forced him to relinquish his place at the head of the formation . In order not to endanger friendly troops on the ground below , he refused to jettison his bombs to gain speed maneuverability . His lagging , unescorted aircraft became the target of numerous enemy fighters which ripped the left wing with cannon shells , set the oxygen system afire , and wounded 2 members of the crew . Repeated attacks started fires in 2 engines , leaving the Flying Fortress in imminent danger of exploding . Realizing the hopelessness of the situation , the bail - out order was given . Without regard for his personal safety he gallantly remained alone at the controls to afford all other crewmembers an opportunity to escape . Still another attack exploded gasoline tanks in the right wing , and the bomber plunged earthward , carrying Gen . Castle to his death . His intrepidity and willing sacrifice of his life to save members of the crew were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service . Legacy . Merced Army Airfield in Merced , California , was renamed Castle Air Force Base in honor of Brigadier General Castle .