- USS Mason (DE-529)
USS "Mason" (DE-529), a "Evarts"-class destroyer escort, was the second ship of the
United States Navy to be named "Mason", though DE-529 was the only one specifically named for EnsignNewton Henry Mason . Her keel was laid down byBoston Navy Yard , inBoston, Massachusetts , on14 October 1943 . She was launched on17 November 1943 sponsored by Mrs. David Mason, mother of Ensign Mason, and commissioned on20 March 1944 , with Lieutenant Commander William M. Blackford, USNR, in command.Following shakedown off
Bermuda , "Mason", the first Navy ship with a predominantlyAfrican American crew, departedCharleston, South Carolina , on14 June escorting a convoy bound forEurope , arrivingHorta Harbor, Azores , on6 July . She got underway fromBelfast, Northern Ireland , for the East Coast26 July , arriving Boston2 August for convoy duty off the harbor through August.On
2 September she arrivedNew York City to sail19 September in the screen for convoy NY.119. The escort ship reachedFalmouth, Cornwall , with part of the convoy18 October , and returned to New York fromPlymouth and theAzores on22 November . "Mason" joined TF 64 atNorfolk, Virginia , on17 December . Two days later she sailed in convoy for Europe, passing byGibraltar on4 January 1945 to be relieved of escort duties. Continuing toAlgeria , she enteredOran on5 January for formation of TG 60.11.The escort ship cleared Oran
7 January . Four days later "Mason" maderadar contact with a surface target. She rang up full speed with allbattle stations manned to attack the presumptivesubmarine , rammed, and droppeddepth charges . Unable to regain contact, the ship returned to the contact point, where searchlight revealed the target — a wooden derelict about 100 by 50 feet. "Mason" then steamed to Bermuda for repairs, enteringSt. George's Harbor on19 January . Five days later she reachedNew York Navy Yard .On
12 February "Mason" departed Norfolk in convoy for theMediterranean Sea , arriving off Gibraltar on28 February . She cleared Oran8 March to guard a convoy to Bermuda andChesapeake Bay before returning to New York24 March . Aftersonar exercises offNew London, Connecticut , and fighter-director training with naval aircraft fromQuonset Point, Rhode Island , she steamed from Norfolk10 April with another convoy to Europe, leaving the convoy at Gibraltar28 April . "Mason" was two days out of Oran en route to the East Coast when theend of World War II in Europe was announced9 May ."Mason" arrived at New York
23 May for operations along the East Coast into July. From28 July to18 August she served as schoolship for the Naval Training Center,Miami, Florida On20 August she arrived at New London to be outfitted for long-range underwater signal testing in the Bermuda area into September. "Mason" departed Bermuda8 September for Charleston, arriving there two days later."Mason" decommissioned on
12 October , was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on1 November 1945 , and was sold and delivered at Charleston to Mr. Thomas Harris ofBarber, New Jersey , on18 March 1947 for scrapping.USS "Mason" (DDG-87) was named in honor of the
African American s on DE-529's crew, and the2004 film "Proud" dramatizes their story. The USS "Mason" was one of two US Navy ships with largely African-American crews in WWII. The other was theUSS PC-1264 , a submarine chaser.cite web|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/011264.htm|title=Submarine Chaser PC-1264|accessdate=2007-08-21|publisher=NavSource Naval History]References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m6/mason-ii.htm
*Kelly, Mary Pat (1999) " proudly="" we="" served:="" the="" men="" of="" uss="" mason."="" anapolis:="" us="" naval="" institute="" press.="" isbn="" 978-1557504661External links
* [http://www.ussmason.org www.ussmason.org]
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