CANFIELD — Chester Kaschak, 82, served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1960s, where he developed a sense of service and a passion to continue serving. Today, he is involved in numerous veterans organizations and continues to serve his country and fellow veterans.
Kaschak graduated from Cardinal Mooney in 1960. In his youth, he worked as a delivery boy for The Vindicator newspaper. After graduating, he studied industrial management at Youngstown State University. At age 21, he decided to drop out of school and try to make money.
“I was discriminated against because I was of military age, so no one wanted to hire me,” Kaschak said.
In 1963, he became engaged to his future wife, JoAnn, and decided to join the Marines, a move that was not popular with his father, Michael Kaschak.
“My father was in the Marines as a coxswain on an LST (landing ship, tank),” Kaschak said. “He never talked about it, but he witnessed the attack on Okinawa and saw the Marines being mowed down. He told me never to join the Marines, so I did.”
In 1963, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was sent to Parris Island, South Carolina for basic training. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, Marine Corps.
“I remember standing at attention after my medical and the DI (instructor) telling me I was nothing but a gangster from Youngstown, but wait until I get through with you,” Kaschak said. “That DI was Staff Sgt. Davis, who was on duty as a recruiting officer in Youngstown when a local gangster’s car was blown up. So he remembered Youngstown for its gangsters.”
He said boot camp physically weakened him and then rebuilt him to become a real Marine. After boot camp, he was sent to Camp Geiger at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
From Camp Geiger, Kaschak was briefly assigned to Fort Meade, Maryland, in radio communications and intelligence. He was then sent back to Camp Lejeune and assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines HNS Company as a communications operator, with top secret crypto clearance to decrypt messages.
“We called the troops at Camp Lejeune a ‘Ready Force,'” Kaschak said. “We were ready to go anywhere in the world.”
From October to November 1964, Kaschak did just that. He was assigned to the helicopter carrier and LST USS LaSalle. This was one of 84 Navy ships participating in Steel Pike, the largest amphibious landing exercise in history at the time. The exercise took place off the coast of Spain.
“Because I was in communications, I could see all the ships involved in the exercise,” Kaschak said. “I could just see ships everywhere. I was glad to be an American.”
He said the Marines involved in the exercise had landed on every island in the Mediterranean. He said freedom had been lost in France, Italy and Spain.
During his deployment, terrorist attacks were reported from Lebanon, whereupon Kaschak’s unit was placed on alert.
In April 1965, helicopters picked up Kaschak’s unit and transported it to the helicopter carrier USS Okinawa. The ship then headed for the Dominican Republic after then-President Lyndon Johnson requested troops to assist the island in its civil war.
“We never went in, but we were in the combat zone,” Kaschak said.
In August 1965, Kaschak was granted leave and married JoAnn. He returned to the Caribbean to serve. Three months before the end of his tour of duty, Kaschak was offered the rank of lieutenant with a choice of duty stations.
“I decided to serve my three years and it was time to settle down,” he said. “I was honorably discharged in December 1966.”
Kaschak returned to civilian life and ended up at Youngstown Sheet & Tube. He started as a clerk and was quickly promoted to foreman. He rose to the rank of head worker. After 11.5 years (1977), he received the news that the plant was closing.
He worked at Republic Steel for three years until the company closed, and eventually ended up at LTV Steel in Warren. He retired from LTV in 2001 after 35 years in the steel industry.
Like most Marines, Kaschak couldn’t sit on a porch, but he had to stay busy. He began driving a school bus for Western Reserve and Canfield schools. In his free time, Kaschak continued his service to others by joining Marine Corps Detachment League 494 and American Legion Post 737 (Lake Milton).
He was involved with Wreaths for Veterans, placing flags on veterans’ graves, visiting hospices to help other veterans, and serving in flag and honor guards at parades and religious services. He also became involved with the Mahoning Veterans Museum at the Canfield Fairgrounds, where he now serves as a trustee. He also became a master gardener with the local OSU Extension Office. He is an avid gardener and now works in raised beds.
“All of this concerns me,” said Kaschak. “I see many people retiring and doing nothing. They are no longer with us.”
He recommends the service and is convinced that all young people should have this experience.
“I recommend every young person to spend some time in the military,” he said. “Maybe then they will have more respect for our flag and what it stands for.”
Do you have an interesting story? Email JT Whitehouse at [email protected].
