USS Mason (DE-529)

History

USS Mason (DE-529), an 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 Ensign Newton Henry Mason. USS Mason was one of two US Navy ships with largely African-American crews in World War II. The other was USS PC-1264, a submarine chaser. These two ships were manned by African Americans as the result of a letter sent to President Roosevelt by the NAACP in mid-December 1941. Entering service in 1944, the vessel was used for convoy duty in the Battle of the Atlantic for the remainder of the war. Following the war, Mason was sold for scrap and broken up in 1947.

Text from Wikipedia: USS Mason (DE-529), CC BY-SA 4.0, lightly trimmed.

Wars and campaigns

From Wikidata (CC0).

Key dates

1. 1918
   Newton Henry Mason (24 December 1918 – May 1942) was a United States Navy fighter pilot who was killed in action at the Battle of the Coral Sea.
2. 1918
   Mason was born in New York City on 24 December 1918.
3. 1943
   Mason's keel was laid down in the Boston Navy Yard on 14 October 1943.
4. 1945
   Two days later, she sailed in convoy for Europe, passing by Gibraltar on 4 January 1945 to be relieved of escort duties.
5. 1945
   Mason was decommissioned on 12 October, struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 November 1945, and sold and delivered to New Jersey on 18 March 1947 for scrapping.

Dates and events quoted from the same Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Records that place someone aboard this ship

A ship history doesn't name everyone who served. These records do:

• Navy muster rolls, 1939–1949 (National Archives guide)
• Deck logs: how to get them (Naval History and Heritage Command)
• Crew lists research guide (NHHC)
• Search the National Archives Catalog for “USS Mason (DE-529)”

More history

• Naval History and Heritage Command (DANFS)
• Wikipedia: USS Mason (DE-529)