Edmund L. Castillo (1924–2005) Biography

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for SATA sketch: Born November 13, 1924, in Toledo, OH; died of congestive heart failure, August 24, 2005, in Washington, DC. Naval officer, government official, and author. Castillo was a retired U.S. Navy captain, where he served as a public affairs officer, and later worked as spokesman for Fairfax County in Virginia. After graduating from Northwestern University in 1945, he was commissioned as an officer in the Naval Reserve just in time to see action in the Pacific theater during the last months of World War II. In 1949 he was commissioned in the regular navy and became a public affairs specialist. Castillo served until 1968, rising to the rank of captain. During this time, he held several posts, including press officer for the Department of Navy, officer-in-charge of the Navy Journalist School, and press officer of the Department of Defense. During his time in the navy, Castillo also wrote several nonfiction books for children, including All about the United States Navy (1961), The Seabees of World War II (1963), and Flat-Tops—The Story of Aircraft Carriers (1969). Castillo continued his education in the 1950s, earning a master's degree in communication from Boston University in 1954. After retiring from the U.S. Navy, he put his public relations experience to good use by becoming the spokesman for Fairfax County. Castillo also earned a Ph.D. in public administration from George Washington University in 1978. He left his job as spokesman in 1984 to become executive assistant to the county executive, retiring from public service in 1990.