Word: kasler
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MAJOR JAMES KASLER, ace U.S. Air Force pilot, flew back into danger to help a buddy, and was last heard reporting: "My leg is broken." See THE WORLD...
Along with his aggressiveness, U.S. Air Force Major James Kasler has always been admired for fierce loyalty to his buddies in time of trouble. "I know if I get in a jam," said a fellow pilot recently, "I'm going to get help. I can depend on Kasler." Last week loyalty brought disaster to Jim Kasler, the "one-man Air Force" who was fast becoming the most famous pilot over-North Viet Nam (TIME...
Shiny Rails. Recently Kasler was roving over North Viet Nam's southern panhandle, where intelligence said no trains had operated for months. "I noticed the tracks were shiny," he recalls. "So I followed them and suddenly I saw a train. Since then, we have destroyed several trains there and put the line out of commission." Last week, busy as ever, Kasler picked out some suspicious tracks leading into an out-of-the-way forested area near North Viet Nam's Mu Gia Pass. "I dropped down to 500 ft., and sure enough, there was a truck. My first...
...forte is the fine art of target spotting-the No. 1 challenge of a war in which U.S. airmen, in contrast to World War II's saturation-bombing of sprawling cities, must search out isolated objectives against a foe supremely skilled at camouflage. Says a fellow pilot of Kasler: "He is part hawk." Blue-eyed Kasler has his own explanation of the job. "When you know where to look for ground targets," says he, "suddenly they start popping into your vision. When you look at rivers, you are looking for camouflaged boats under overhanging trees. You look for roads...
...four-plane flight that Kasler commands as part of the 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron claims to have destroyed or damaged 219 buildings, 66 barges, 53 railroad cars, 44 trucks, 36 fuel tanks, 28 bridges and 16 flak sites-a record for any such air unit. And, miraculously, in 72 missions Kasler has yet to be shot down-though statistically, every American airman is downed at least once by the time he has reached 60 missions. The Indianan has an explanation for that too. Says he: "The best way to survive is by being aggressive...