VIETNAM Veterans share war stories

The retired Marine captain was here to film campaign ads for the police chief.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Retired Marine Capt. Ben R. Cascio lost an eye during a bloody battle in Vietnam but could have lost his life had it not been for his crew chief.
It was April 1968. Cascio's crew chief was Robert E. Bush Jr., a 20-year-old Marine lance corporal.
"Yeah, he saved my life, even though he keeps arguing with me, he says I saved his life," Cascio said, shaking his head and laughing. "Without teamwork, neither of us would be here."
Cascio, 63, of Oakland, N.J., and Bush, 57, shared war stories Thursday afternoon at the police chief's East Side home. Cascio brought along a video made from snapshots he took during their time in Southeast Asia. They made fun of one USO shot, deriding the fact they got Martha Rae (a 1940s comedian) instead of some hot babe.
"Everyone liked to fly with Bob. He was the best crew chief, took real pride in what he did. His helicopter was the best because of his dedication," Cascio said. "When my parents were sending salami, his were sending car wax. You could eat off the floors of his helicopter."
The former Marines sat side by side on a couch, dressed alike in green golf shirts emblazoned with Ugly Angels HMM 362 squadron emblems. They bought the shirts at a reunion three years ago in Oklahoma.
Dangerous flight
Cascio, a senior pilot at 27, said they were on the aircraft carrier Iwo Jima when the emergency call came April 3, 1968, to medivac five critically wounded Marines. They landed without lights, to avoid attracting enemy attention. The enemy was well-trained North Vietnamese.
As the injured were being loaded, "all hell broke loose," Cascio said. "We got hit from all sides. The chase plane wingman said it looked like the spokes of a wheel and we were in the center. He never expected us to get out."
Cascio got hit in his left eye. Bush took shrapnel in his right thigh -- it was his second wartime injury.
"I tried to reach the co-pilot, to tell him he had to take [the controls]. He was slumped over. I called to Bob -- he was returning fire," Cascio said. "I said you got to talk me out of here."
Bush kept shooting as he gave directions to the helicopter pilot trying to fly with one eye, blood streaming from the other.
Years later, Cascio said he learned from a commanding officer who awarded Bush a citation that the fastidious crew chief had 12 confirmed enemy kills within 25 yards of the aircraft. Bush interjected that his policy was, "You shoot me once, I shoot you 200 times."
Cascio nodded in agreement then continued with the saga of that night so long ago that remains crystal clear in both men's minds.
"We would have been overrun if we didn't get out of there," Cascio said. "Bob gave me directions, saying, 'Take it forward, you got trees on both sides.' I was trying to gauge power and direction with his eyes. I couldn't get it off the ground -- we had eight wounded instead of five, we were severely overloaded."
They made it out alive, landing on a beach, all five crewmen and the eight wounded Marines. The helicopter had been hit no less than 500 times -- it looked like Swiss cheese.
"I did what I had to do," Bush said. "As Ben was talking to me -- we had a little red dome light -- and I remember saying, 'Sir, cut the light, cut the light out,' and he said, 'Bush, I can't see.' They were aiming in on that light. I reached up and knocked the light out."
Reuniting
Bush said he and Cascio, who went on to become a real estate attorney, lost track of each other after that night. They've kept in touch since the reunion three years ago.
Cascio, who still flies in air shows, was in town to film a commercial for Bush's mayoral campaign. He said Bush is a real success story and he was more than willing to come to town to say so.