World War II Chronicle: January 10, 1942
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Sports section begins on page 24…
On 21 April 1914, Lt. Guy W.S. Castle led the battleship USS Utah‘s battalion of bluejacket infantry ashore (yes, the same ship sunk at Pearl Harbor 27 years later) to capture the port of Veracruz, Mexico, earning the Medal of Honor. Two things were named in Lt. Castle’s honor: a Gearing-class destroyer and a son, Guy W.S. Castle Jr.
Guy Jr. enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1934 and later fought in the Spanish Civil war. On page 7 we see Guy Jr. has re-enlisted in the Marines. While I couldn’t find any information on the younger Castle, apart from his passing in 1965, Navy records show that he was wounded in the Solomons on 14 September 1942 while serving in Company B of Col. Merritt A. Edson’s 1st Marine Raider Battalion.
Raymond and William Wells were one of 38 sets of brothers that served together aboard USS Arizona on 7 December 1941. Yesterday, Raymond Sr. (a veteran of the first world war) and Alice Wells of Nevada, Mo. learned that their sons were both killed in last month’s attack. Raymond Jr. had served on Arizona since 1938 and William had just joined the crew in June 1940.
It was quite common for family members to serve together on the same ship, especially during peacetime. A father and his son were also killed aboard Arizona. Click here to read about the brothers killed on USS Oklahoma.
Featured image: the battleship USS UTAH, circa 1914