Gold Castles is the name of the 14K gold insignia pin handed down from General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

to his chief engineer Major General

Leif J. Sverdrup Leif Johan Sverdrup CBE (11 January 1898 – 2 January 1976) was a Norwegian-born American civil engineer and general with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his service in the Southwes ...

in 1945, who established a tradition in 1975 that it shall be given to each successive

Chief of Engineers The Chief of Engineers is a principal United States Army staff officer at The Pentagon. The Chief advises the Army on engineering matters, and serves as the Army's topographer and proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs. ...

of the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

Origin: Corps Castle insignia

The pin is a 14K rendition of the logo of the Corps, the so-called

Corps Castle Corps Castle is the logo of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The logo is typically a white castle with three towers set on a red background. When the Corps Castle is worn as insignia on a uniform, it is similar to the logo design but wi ...

, which was used on an informal basis by cadets at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

dating back to 1839. Beginning in 1841, many wore personal insignia of this type on the uniforms. These came to be called Gold Castles. In 1902, the castle was formally adopted by the Army as the insignia of the Corps of Engineers. It was changed to silver from 1894 to 1921

Originally a graduation gift to Douglas MacArthur

A pair of the gold pin insignia of the Corps Castle were graduation gifts from his family originally received by cadet and newly commissioned Second Lieutenant Douglas MacArthur at the United States Military Academy at

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

in the Class of 1903. Trained as an engineer, MacArthur wore them through his service in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, as Commandant of West Point, as Army Chief of Staff, and as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Pacific Theater in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1945, General MacArthur presented his Gold Castles to Major General Leif J. Sverdrup, his chief engineer. General Sverdrup later recalled that MacArthur told him that, although he personally valued them very much, they "deserved to be worn by a real engineer." (This was apparently a reference to General MacArthur's transfer from the Corps of Engineers to Infantry in 1917).

Beginning a tradition: General Sverdrup

On May 2, 1975, upon the 200th anniversary of the Corps, retired General Sverdrup, who had

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

ing projects including the landmark 17 mile-long

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Chesapeake most often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian *Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated places In Virginia * ...

to his credit, presented the Gold Castles to then-Chief of Engineers Lieutenant General

William C. Gribble, Jr. William C. Gribble Jr. (born May 24, 1917, in Ironwood, Michigan – June 2, 1979) graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1941 and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. During World War II, he served on the staff of the 340t ...

, who had also served under General MacArthur in the Pacific. Later at the same

Fort Belvoir Fort Belvoir ( ) is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir (plantation), Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Lord ...

ceremony, General Gribble announced an intention to begin a tradition of passing the gold castle pins along to be worn by each future head of the Corps. His successor received them the following year, as has each subsequent Chief of Engineers. The current "castle" logo of the Corps is a rendition of the more detailed of the Gold Castle pins.

External links

History of the Chief of Engineers' Gold Castles
United States military badges