"Pappie"

A Biography of Simon Castille

by Nicole A. Hebert, granddaughter

My grandfather, Simon Castille, was born on October 28, 1905, in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. His parents were Ada Castille and Matthias Castille, and he was the only child of his father’s second marriage.

His parents made their home on a Breaux Bridge farm and he attended Breaux Bridge Elementary Schools. He was president of his senior class and graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1924 of Breaux Bridge High School.

Castille joined the local National Guard Company as a private, and he served from 1921 to 1960. As an enlisted man, he served in all ranks except First Sergeant. During American’s peacetime years, from 1921 to 1931, Castille participated in National Guard State Calls to Active Duty during the floods of 1922 and 1927. In 1922 his unit performed levee duty and apportioned rations to refugees in the region of the Red River. During the flood of 1927, the National Guard Company evacuated the people from the Atchatfalaya Basin from Breaux Bridge. This company established refugee camps in Lafayette and Opelousas and for approximately four months, they maintained these camps.

The Guard was called to State Active Duty in the mid-thirties to maintain order and tranquility during times of elections. Castille attended Infantry School Basic Course at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1929; Chemical Warfare School in Edgewood, Maryland in 1935, and was a member of the State National Guard Rifle Team at Camp Perry, Ohio, in 1939.

He was promoted to Second Lieutenant in 1926 following the Cadet Military Training Corps one-month training session in 1924 and 1925 at Fort McClellan in the state of Alabama. While he was training, he was a Cadet Platoon Leader in 1925 and a Cadet Company Commander and Cadet Battalion Commander in 1925. Promoted to the rank Commander and Cadet Battalion Commander in 1925.

Promoted to the rank of Captain in 1931, Castille became commander of his hometown company.

Simon Castille and Eunice LeBlanc were married in January of 1930. Over the years they had four children. Lloyd Leocadie, Rowena Marie, who is my mother, Louise Ada and Simone Ann. The couple had twelve grandchildren, and I was number ten.

Castille was employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad in the mid-1930s. He engineered freight trains giving rail service to industries of South Louisiana such as sugar refineries, oil refineries, canneries and produce sheds. While he was an engineer, he periodically received awards for safety and proficiency. At the age of sixty-five, after thirty-five years of service to the Southern Pacific Railroad, he retired.

Company F, 156th Infantry, was federally inducted for service training at Camp Blanding, Florida, in 1940. Major Castille served as executive officer of Headquarters, Second Battalion, and along with his men, took part in the Louisiana and Carolina Maneuvers. Training camps dominated his early war years. With the 156th, Castille went from Camp Blanding, Florida, to Camp Bowie, Texas. In the summer of 1942, he was cadred out of the 95th Division at Camp Swift, near Austin, Texas for training new recruits. Training persevered at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, Camp Polk, Louisiana and at the Desert Training Center in the Mojave Desert, California. His promotion to Lieutenant Colonel took place at this time.

In December 1943, Lieutenant Colonel Castille was assigned to Headquarters, North African Theater of Operations, and U.S. Army A.P.O. 534 and from this headquarters was reassigned to the 5th Army Headquarters at Caserta, in the vicinity of Naples, Italy. Castille took part in several campaigns in the Allied drive up the Italian Peninsula, including Casino, Anzio, Rome, Leghorn, Florence, Bologna, Modena, Piacenza and Milan.

While he was stationed in Italy, one of the many exciting World War II adventures he had came about. Castille turned a potentially dangerous situation to his advantage by some quick thinking and amateur theatrics. In our family, we refer to it as the "Life or Death Bluff" when, single-handedly, Castille captured eleven Germans. During a tremendous offensive drive, Castille and an aide were separated from the rest of their battalion, and in an effort to catch up with the rapidly-moving troops, the two men were running through a ravine. Castille was about one hundred feet in the lead. When he came to the end of the ravine, he found himself face-to-face with eleven German soldiers who had been cut off from their retreating comrades. At eleven to one, Castille knew the odds were against him, so with nothing to lose and everything to gain, he decided to attempt a bluff. He unholstered his gun and shouted orders to imaginary troops behind him, waved his arms in a surrounding gesture, and shouted, "All right, men, we’ve got them surrounded!" The Germans did not immediately surrender, for they could see only one American soldier, and they discussed among themselves the validity of the call to surrender. At this point (decidedly good timing), Castille’s aide had caught up with him, and the aide’s appearance convinced them. They surrendered by throwing their guns and helmets to the ground.

During his twenty-one months of duty in the War Zone, Colonel Castille earned the following awards: Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Combat Infantry Badge, Defense Service Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon with four battle stars, Pre-Pearl Harbor Ribbon, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Silver Star. He was also honored by receiving the War Cross of Merit from the Italian Government.

Colonel Castille was separated from active duty on January 25, 1946. Reorganization of the Louisiana National Guard began in 1946. Castille served as Regimental Commander of the 156th Infantry from 1948 to 1959. He was Deputy Brigade Commander and Assistant Division Commander. He retired in 1960 in the grade of Colonel after thirty-nine years of service. When he retired from the Louisiana National Guard, Castille’s hometown of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, dedicated an entire day to him, honoring him in the homily at his church, followed by a parade in his name, a Troop Review, and a special ceremony, which included numerous military and civilian officials.

In 1968, his wife, Eunice, passed away, and he became a widower. He was married again in February of 1972 to Thelma Hanes Boudreaux of Lafayette, Louisiana. Affectionately called "Pappie" by his family, relatives, and close friends, Simon Castille resided in Lafayette, Louisiana after his retirement and pursued his hobbies of gardening and reading.

(Addendum: He died on February 22, 1997 in Lafayette, LA at age of 91½ years and was buried in the St. Bernard Catholic Church Cemetery #1.)