DOB/DOD: March 21, 1925 (Evanston, IL) – August 19, 1944; 19 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: Elmcrest Terrace, Norwalk
ENLISTMENT: July 2, 1943
SERVICE NUMBER: 31336555
UNIT: 21st Armored Infantry Battalion
FAMILY: Born to Frank (1891-1963) and Ellen Mann Kastner (1896-1964). One sister, Elizabeth Kastner Oelschlager (1918-1984).
NOTE: Attended Central High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
CIRCUMSTANCES: Died “Non-Battle” in Santa Barbara, CA. The interment card says, “Authority – Telegram from Commanding General, Camp Cooke, Calif. Dated, 24 Aug 1944.” Camp Cooke in Santa Barbara was the home of a POW camp for older German POWs. When connected with the comments from the Colby College yearbook below, a picture emerges, but the exact details are unknown. Internet searches come up empty.
Colby College Yearbook, 1946
Word has reached the Alumni Office of the death of Private Frank Worth Kastner Jr. The circumstances are not clear, but it took place in connection with the escape of prisoners during watch duty. That the fatality happened in this country may be inferred from the fact that he was buried in Richmond, Virginia. The date of death has not been received. He was born on March 21, 1925, in Evanston, Illinois, and entered Colby from Chattanooga, Tennessee High School, although his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank W. Kastner, then moved to Norwalk, Connecticut. He attended Colby for the years 1942-1943. After induction, he took training at Camp Roberts, California, and for a time was in an ASTU (Army Specialized Training Unit) at the College of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington. The college had not been informed of his later address when the word of his death was received.
From The Norwalk Hour August 29, 1944
Private F. Worth Kastner, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank W. Kastner of Elmcrest Terrace, formerly of Harbor View, was killed in an accident at Camp Cooke, California, on August 19, according to word received today by friends. The body was shipped to Richmond, Virginia, where Mr. and Mrs. Kastner were visiting their daughter, Mrs. Kurt Oelschlager. Burial took place there yesterday with full military rites. No details of how Private Kastner met death were available today. Private Kastner had just completed his freshman year at Colby College, Waterville, Maine, when he entered the Army in July 1943 to take a specialized training program in engineering, a course which serves as a feeder to the Officer Candidate Schools. He went to Fort Devens and from there to Camp Roberts, California, thence to the College of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington, and then to Camp Cooke.
Buried at Richmond National Cemetery; 1701 Williamsburg Road, Williamsburg, VA; Section 1C, Plot 5110. Picture provided by Mike Lawrence from the Richmond National Cemetery.
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