by Perry D. Luckett and Charles L Byler
Potomac Books, Inc. 22841 Quicksilver Drive Dulles, Virginia 20166
Colonel Jim Kasler, USAF Retired: B-29 tail gunner, F-86 Sabre pilot (6 MiGs), F-lOS Thud pilot (91 missions), POW (6 1/2 years), successful businessman, family man. Three Air Force Crosses (the only three time recipient), two Silver Stars, Legion of Merit, nine Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze Stars (one with "V"), two Purple Hearts, and eleven Air Medals. Jim Kasler's amazing life story is summarized in those few words, but the authors of his biography have provided details which reveal much more about this American hero. Perhaps the words of another hero, in the "Afterword" of Tempered Steel", say it best:As the biography documents, Jim Kasler is an indestructible man who persevered in the face of death through years of wartime combat flying, massive injuries in Vietnam, and vicious, continuous torture at the hands of his captors at Hoa Lo prison. Colonel Kasler can thank his tremendously strong character for his miraculous survival.
Jim's status as a Korean War ace speaks for itself. In Vietnam he was one of the Air Force's top fliers, lauded by fellow pilots as `the Destroyer' for his effectiveness in the F-lO5 Thunderchief. Despite being junior in rank to many in his wing, he planned and led the June 29, 1966, Hanoi POL (petroleum, oil, and lubricants) strike. It was perhaps the most effective major attack of the Vietnam War, save perhaps the great B-52 bombardments that shut down the war.
No portion of this article may be used or reprinted without permission from the President of the F-86 Sabre Pilots Association or the editor of Sabre Jet Classics magazine.