Veteran recalls aid from Airmen

One of the Tuskegee Airmen will be the featured speaker at an upcoming VFW banquet in Girard.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
GOSHEN -- "I just want to shake the hand of a Tuskegee airman," said Chuck Cashon, who was a nose gunner on B-24 Liberator bombers that the black Tuskegee pilots escorted during World War II.
Cashon, of Goshen Township, was based in Italy and flew 36 missions over Germany.
Many times his unit, bombers with the 15th Air Force of the Army Air Corps, was escorted by fighter planes flown by Tuskegee Airmen.
"We always loved them to escort. They came right over the target with us. The other escorts were good, but they would set back about five miles from the target and wait for us to come back," he said.
"I always wanted to meet a Tuskegee Airman and shake his hand," said Cashon, 78.
About the event
Cashon will take the opportunity Saturday when Luther H. Smith, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, will be the featured speaker at the 45th anniversary banquet of Donald Lockett VFW Post 6488.
The banquet will be at 6 p.m. Saturday at Willow Creek Banquet Hall, 1135 Church Hill Road, Girard.
Cashon will be accompanied by Myron Young, commander of VFW Post 9571, in Ellsworth, of which Cashon is a charter member.
"I'm not seeking publicity. I don't talk about the war ... never did. I'm no hero. I didn't do any more than anybody else. I'm just a common guy," he said.
His wife, Agnes, said he doesn't talk about the war because he has flashbacks.
"I have miserable nights. I think anybody who was there has the same thing. Talking about it doesn't help," he said.
"I met a lot of guys in the infantry who crawled around on their bellies for four years. We just flew over a town and dropped bombs," he said.
Everybody did their part during the war, Cashon said, including the women who worked in the gas stations and the mills.
"If they hadn't been working, we wouldn't have been able to fly those damned planes," he said.
Member of post
Cashon is a charter member of VFW Post 9571 in Ellsworth, and its current commander, Myron Young, will accompany him to Saturday's banquet.
Cashon's three brothers also served during World War II: John and James in the Army Air Corps, Robert in the Navy.
"No war is any good," he said, "but I'm glad I went, and so are my brothers."
After the war, Cashon worked in the automobile business as a salesman for several auto dealerships in Canfield. He also operated Cashon's Garage in Cornersburg for many years and retired from Stratton Chevrolet in Beloit.
He and his wife, Agnes, whom he married Nov. 9, 1943, have four children: Bonnie Cashon of Clearwater, Fla.; Ted of Unity and Richard of Woodworth, both of whom served in the Coast Guard; and Jack of Tarpon Springs, Fla.
Cashon joined the Army Air Corps in December 1943, achieved the rank of sergeant, and then was discharged as a corporal in October 1945.
alcorn@vindy.com