Pete Joaquin Castillo was born at Kerrville, Kerr County, Texas August 17, 1918. His birth name was Pedro Joaquin Castillo, but his name in military records is simply Pete J. Castillo. He was one of at least six children of Ramon Juan Castillo (31 Aug 1883 – 22 Nov 1964), who was born at Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and immigrated to America about 1903; and Esther (Herrera) Castillo (1 Jan 1885 – 21 Nov 1972), who was born at Bandera County, Texas. His parents married about 1907 and lived at Kerrville, Kerr County, Texas. His father was a retail merchant and grocer. In 1910 the family lived on Lytle Street in Kerville. By 1930 the family lived at 306 Francisco Lemos Street in Kerrville. In 1964 Ramon and Esther Castillo lived at 837 Sidney Baker Street, Kerrville, Texas.
He registered for the draft at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas on October 16, 1940. He was 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 125 pounds, and had brown eyes and black hair. He completed four years of college and was single when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at San Antonio, Texas on December 1, 1941. After training, he was ultimately assigned as a bombsight and autopilot mechanic in the 836th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group (Heavy).
He was assigned to the 487th Bomb Group by December 1943 at Bruning Army Air Base, Nebraska, and moved with the Group to Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico on December 12, 1943. In March 1944 he deployed to England with the ground echelon of the Group, which crossed the Atlantic aboard the troop ship Duchess of Bedford, and arrived in England in early April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.
In July 1944 the 487th Bomb Group transitioned from flying the B-24 'Liberator' to the B-17 'Flying Fortress'. On July 20, 1944, T/Sgt Castillo flew on a training flight in B-17G 43-37840 with the crew of Lt Paul M. Stults, 836th Bomb Squadron, in order to adjust the autopilot while in flight.
Another 487th Bomb Group crew also flew a training mission that day. It was the crew of Lt David L. Ozbolt, 839th Bomb Squadron, which flew a practice bombing mission in B-24H 42-51197 at the Ducks Hall bombing range just west of Lavenham. Just after the Ozbolt crew dropped their practice bombs, the two aircraft collided. The B-24 spun in and crashed near Cavendish, England. Five men died in the crash. Lt Stults, his left wing on fire, attempted to reach Lavenham Airfield, but crashed in a wheat field near the base Officers Club and Clapstile Farmhouse. Four men died in the crash. T/Sgt Castillo was severely burned when a wing tank exploded as he bailed out of the B-17. He succumbed to his injuries on August 12, 1944. He is now buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
B-17G 42-37840 crew:
• Stults, Paul M – 1/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• Thomas Jr, Eldridge W – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Parris, Howard L – Lt – Navigator – Safe
• Heil, Charles A – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Walters, Lester R – 1/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Brown, Melvin R – T/Sgt – Engineer – Safe
• Schaffer, Charles L – Sgt – Radio Operator – Safe
• Knight, Frank M – Sgt – Gunner – Safe
• Brown, Julius E – Sgt – Gunner – Safe
• Castillo, Pete J – T/Sgt – Autopilot Mechanic – KIA
• Grantham, Russell A – Lt – Squadron Bombardier – Safe
Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com