Col James Kasler USAF Ret., passed away | FerrariChat

Col James Kasler USAF Ret., passed away

Discussion in 'Aviation Chat' started by ralfabco, Apr 27, 2014.

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  1. ralfabco

    ralfabco Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Mar 1, 2002
    28,029
    Dixie
    Full Name:
    Itamar Ben-Gvir
    Prisoner of War Medal

    See more recipients of this award

    Awarded for actions during the Vietnam War

    Lieutenant Colonel James Helms Kasler (AFSN: O-2221728/24551A), United States Air Force, was held as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam from August 8, 1966 until his release on March 4, 1973.

    Action Date: August 8, 1966 - March 4, 1973

    Service: Air Force

    Rank: Lieutenant Colonel

    Division: Prisoner of War (North Vietnam)







    JAMES H. KASLER

    Colonel - United States Air Force

    Captured: August 8, 1966

    Released: March 4, 1973

    I was shot down over North Vietnam on 8 August 1966 while flying my 91st

    mission. I knew my internment would not be a pleasant one, but little did I

    imagine that we would be subjected to years of torture accompanied by

    constant pressure. It's difficult to imagine the mental anguish that we went

    through, waiting in isolation for them to come after you and fearing that

    you would not be strong enough to resist being forced into taping or writing

    something which would harm our country or its cause.

    During those early years we were kept in isolation so much of the time and

    denied anything with which to occupy our minds. We were never allowed to see

    or communicate with other prisoners and never allowed out of our cells

    except for an occasional bath.

    The Vietnamese kept us in isolation and denied us anything to occupy our

    minds for a good reason; for when a man living under these conditions is

    subjected to any mental inputs or torture it remains vivid in his memory for

    months.

    Brainwashing has been described as torture, fear, relief, and then repeated

    until the individual becomes receptive to and is willing to parrot anything

    he is told. Isolation, starvation and denial of sleep are used in

    conjunction with brainwashing to reduce individual's resistance. The

    Vietnamese employed all of these techniques but they were crude and ruthless

    in their approach. They were impatient for results and when they were not

    forthcoming, they became even more ruthless.

    My worst session of torture began in late June 1968. The Vietnamese were

    attempting to force me to meet a delegation and appear before TV cameras on

    the occasion of the supposed 30000th American airplane ever North Vietnam. I

    couldn't say the things they were trying to force me to say. I was tortured

    for six weeks. I went through the ropes and irons ten times. I was denied

    sleep for five days and during three of these was beaten every hour on the

    hour with a fan belt. During the entire period I was on a starvation diet. I

    was very sick during this period. I had contacted osteomyelitis in early

    1967 and had a massive bone infection in my right leg.

    They would wrap a my leg before each torture session so I wouldn't

    get pus or blood all over the floor of the interrogation room. During this

    time they beat my face to a pulp. I couldn't get my teeth apart for five

    days. My ear drum was ruptured, one of my ribs broken and the pin in my

    right leg was broken loose and driven up into my hip.

    I lay in agony for six months until I was given an operation in January of

    1969.

    I surrendered a number of times during this torture session but when they

    tried to get me to do something I would refuse. By the time they were

    finished with me I was in no condition to do anything.

    Their purpose of course was to exploit the POW's to try to force us to

    parrot their propaganda in tapes or letters to delegations which came to

    Hanoi. But our treatment in Hanoi only strengthened our resistance and our

    faith in our country and its cause in Southeast Asia.

    Robert Louis Stevenson once said, "Anyone can carry his burden, however hard

    until nightfall, anyone can do his work however hard for one day." This was

    the pattern of our lives in Hanoi during those early years of terror. We

    lived to endure each day hoping that nightfall would bring us a few hours of

    relief. We could have easily compromised our beliefs and made our lives much

    easier by cooperating with the Vietnamese. But our goal was to return home

    with our honor. Some brave men did not survive those early years but those

    who did came home with dignity and pride.





    And more.....


    06/20/96 Cuban War Crimes Against American POWs During Vietnam War Micheal Benge Ex-POW, 1968-1973 Pentagon officials confirmed that POWs released during "Operation Homecoming" in 1973, were told not to talk about "third-country interrogations". "This thing is very sensitive with all kinds of diplomatic ramifications,"according to one Pentagon official. (Washington Star, 4/3/73)Not only was it not discussed, the torture and murder of over 20 Americans by Cubans, was swept under the rug by the U.S. government. The Cubans wereattached to Hanoi's Enemy Proselytizing Bureau with jurisdiction over American POWs. Air Force Colonel Donald "Digger" Odell gave his Defense Department debriefers an eyewitness account of two American POWs, who the Hanoi communists hadn't released because "The Vietnamese didn't want the world to see what they had done to them."In spite of the Colonel's eyewitness account, and those of other returnees, DOD (Department of Defense) continues to this date to vehemently deny thatany American POWs had been left behind. For days in June 1968, Air Force Ace Major James Kasler was tortured by Fidel. Fidel beat Kasler across the buttocks with a large truck fan belt until "he tore my rear end to shreds".For one three-day period, Kasler was beaten with the fan belt every hourfrom 6:am to 10pm, and kept awake at night. "My mouth was so bruised that I could not open my teeth for five days."After one beating, Kasler's buttocks, lower back and legs hung in shreds.The skin had been entirely whipped away and the area was a bluish, purplish,greenish mass of bloody raw meat. According to Kasler, "at least 15 men were either killed during torture or were not accounted for." (Time, 4/9/71) Three POWs were beaten senseless, and of the three, two disappeared and the other was reported to have died. Fidel called one of the American POWs the "Faker". He was one of the three who had been beaten senseless.
     
  2. deeprivergarage

    deeprivergarage Formula Junior
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    Oct 3, 2009
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    Jerry
  3. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 29, 2004
    33,736
    Austin TX
    Full Name:
    Brian Crall
    A friend of the family was a Marine and survivor of the Bataan Death March. What our enemies in the East have done to POW's is unspeakable.

    Rest in peace Colonel.
     
  4. Kds

    Kds F1 World Champ

    He was a THUD driver IIRC..........RIP.
     

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