Col. Lawrence Varsi Castner[1, 2]
1902 - 1949 (47 years)-
Name Lawrence Varsi Castner Prefix Col. Nickname Bill Born May 01, 1902 San Francisco, California, USA 
Gender Male Died Dec 06, 1949 Buried San Francisco National Cemetery, The Presidio, San Francisco, California, USA Notes - During World War II, the Army sent Lt. Earl Acuff to a remote location in the Aleutian Islands to spy on Japanese aircraft. He was able to warn the Army about several attacks. Months went by and the Army heard nothing from him, so the Alaskan Scouts, a unit of commando rangers under the leadership of Col. Lawrence Castner, were sent out to recover his body. Acuff, however, was far from dead. "I was living like a king," he recalled with a chuckle. "They told me not to break radio sound unless I saw a Japanese plane, so I didn't."
Kuluk Bay Landing Site - (Marker on east side of Bayshore Hwy, across from former NAVFAC complex)
On August 28, 1942, the U.S. Naval submarines, SS Triton and SS Tuna, surfaced 4 miles due east of this beach and disembarked a 37-man U.S. Army intelligence gathering unit lead by Colonel Lawrence V. Castner. The unit was known as "The Alaska Scout," or more affectionately as "Castner's Cutthroats." Their mission was to gather information about the Japanese troop strength on Adak and to report their findings to the landing force already on its way from Dutch Harbor. No enemy troops were found, and on August 30, a 17-ship landing force with 4,500 men and tons of heavy equipment arrived. Their mission: to build an airstrip and troop staging area in preparation for the retaking of the enemy-occupied Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska.
Person ID I100083 mykindred Last Modified Mar 6, 2007
Father Gen. Joseph Compton Castner, b. Nov 18, 1869, New Brunswick, Franklin county, New Jersey, USA , d. Jul 07, 1946 (Age 76 years) Mother Ada Aloysia White, b. Jun 21, 1881, San Francisco, California, USA , d. Jun 06, 1971, Oakland, California, USA (Age 89 years) Family ID F34005 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Lady Jane Callaghan Raby, d. Y Children 1. Marie Diana "Diana" Castner, d. Y 2. Juanita Castner, b. Jun 19, 1928, El Paso, Texas, USA , d. Dec 16, 1995, Rancho, Palos Verdes county, California, USA (Age 67 years)Family ID F33990 Group Sheet | Family Chart
- During World War II, the Army sent Lt. Earl Acuff to a remote location in the Aleutian Islands to spy on Japanese aircraft. He was able to warn the Army about several attacks. Months went by and the Army heard nothing from him, so the Alaskan Scouts, a unit of commando rangers under the leadership of Col. Lawrence Castner, were sent out to recover his body. Acuff, however, was far from dead. "I was living like a king," he recalled with a chuckle. "They told me not to break radio sound unless I saw a Japanese plane, so I didn't."
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Castner, Col. Lawrence (1902-1949)
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