About Col Kasler

A three-time Air Force Cross recipient, Jim Kasler served in WWII as a B-29 gunner seeing combat over Japan.  After the war, he attended Butler University for three years before entering the Air Force pilot training program in 1950.  During his service in Korea, Kasler became an ace pilot.  On August 8, 1966, while flying a mission over North Vietnam, he was shot down and captured.  He was held at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” with other such notables as James Stockdale and John McCain.  Enduring frequent torture, Kasler was released on March 4, 1973 after spending 6 1/2 years in captivity.

The members of the former Johnson County Senior Squadron of the United States Civil Air Patrol are proud to honor Col Kasler.

Click here for Col Kasler's account of "The Hanoi POL Strike", written in 1976

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