Robert J. de Castro LCDR USCG Ret.
Bob passed on last Feb. at the age of 94. this is the eulogy that I gave at his memorial service
I was a shipmate of Bob on the USS Peoria pf67 during WW2
I probably owe my life to Bob deCastro
Imagine, if you will, a ship of war,311 feet long, 37 feet wide fully loaded with naval cannon,anti aircraft guns,ammunition,depth charges and thousands of gallons of bunker C fuel oil.
Add to that, 211 officers and men of the USCG
90% of the commissioning crew had never been to sea
50% had never even seen the sea
As executive officer, Bobs orders were to train us and take us in harms way
We chased German subs and a few whales in the North Atlantic, the South Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
We were not heroes, but we did what we were asked to do
Wemust have done some things right, because we did win the war
After it was over in Europe,Bob brought us home safely.
Ileft the ship in Charleston and was transfered to yhe Pacific and lost touch with the crew
In later years, Bob and I got together again and became friends.the officer ,enlisted man barrier was erased and we were Bob and Sam
We played a lot of golf, took some long trips and had some long lunvhes at East Lake Country club
Then Bob had a stroke,I visitrd him several times at the health center and had the honor to present to him a letter from the CG Commandant,commending him for being an outstanding American patriot and for a job well done
Bob was cantankerous,short spoken, smoked long black, stinking cigars and did not suffer fools.
sometimes he coild be a perfect horses rear.
But I learned to love him and I will surely miss him
Bobs favorite fare thee well was God speed...
So,God speed Bob, God speed
02/23/02 Submitted by: Sam Yancey
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