Korean War Veteran Frank V. Castillo Survived All Odds

COLTON>> On Wednesday, Feb. 8, a military banner was raised high in honor of Korean War Veteran Frank V. Castillo. The banner was raised to honor Castillo for his service in the Korean War in 1951 through 1953. Castillo was transported from Fort Mason in San Francisco to Korea on the USS Breckinridge, where he was put into the 27th infantry nicknamed the Wolfhounds. He began his military career as a private, then as an assistant gunner, a rifleman and then ended his service as a Corporal Squad Leader. He was a reserved rifleman in the 4th platoon and fought on the front lines at the 38th parallel. During his time serving his country, Castillo had come close to losing his life more than once. Castillo recalls an event where he was digging a fox hole, then decided to stand up in order to stretch his back. He thought that he had dropped a necklace with a medallion on it that his wife had given him to keep him safe. As he bent down to retrieve the medallion, he felt “a bullet just miss the top of his head.” It turned out that, although he had thought he dropped the necklace, he found that it was still around his neck. Castillo said he had survived gunshots, snipers, land mines, bombs and even a flaming plane that was threatening to crash into his base camp. At one point he missed death by only 30 seconds. He said he had gone to a bunker known as Able Bunker to get some clean clothes and as he was arriving back to his own bunker, the Able Bunker had taken a direct hit from the enemy. On his last day in Korea, he received a phone call from a fellow soldier asking if he wanted to go home. Castillo believed it was someone playing a joke on him and hung up the phone. Luckily, the soldier called him again and confirmed that it was true and a jeep was waiting for him. After tearful good-byes to his fellow soldiers, he took the jeep to the USS Black and returned home to his family. Castillo was the only child out of nine brothers to serve his country and said he reminds his younger children of “how close they came to not being born.” “He loaned his life to this country and on several occasions almost lost it for his country,” said Lillian Castillo, Frank Castillo’s daughter-in-law. “He protected the people of South Korea as he has protected us and provided for all of us." The Castillo family decided to honor their loved one with a military banner installation because they said they believe anyone who has served for our country to protect us or other countries deserves to be acknowledged for their sacrifice.