The USS Mason (DE-529): Mostly Black Crew-- Part 2

The USS Mason had 13 officers, only one of whom was black and 191 enlisted men, of which 160 were black.

On September 2, 1944, the ship arrived in New York to escort Convoy 119 which reached England on October 18th after encountering a huge storm on the way.  The little ship was in danger itself, but rescued crews from stricken ships and was critically damaged.  That damage was repaired at sea.

For thirty days the convoy battled record 50 foot waves and 70 knotwind.  Three tugs sank, 8 car floats and 5 cargo barges.

The crew never received letters of commendation for their efforts and heroism until 1994.

Charles Dana Gibson wrote the book "The Ordeal of Convoy NY 119" about the story.

There is now a USS Mason guided missile destroyer in the US Navy.

Sounds Like a Good Movie to Me.  --GreGen

The USS Mason (DE-529): Mostly Black Crew-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Back on January 5 and 9, I wrote about military tugboats constructed in Deland, Florida.  One, the ST-679, was a part of the "Infamous" Convoy NY-119, which encountered a horrendous storm in September 1944.  One of the ships mentioned in the convoy was the USS Mason.

I wasn't sure why this ship's name would be mentioned and others in the convoy were not.  So, of course, I had to do some more research, especially since I had never heard of the ship.

The USS Mason (DE-529) was an Everts-class destroyer escort and one of only two World War II ships manned almost entirely by a black crew.  The other was the USS PC-1264, a submarine chaser.

Ships being manned by black crews was the result of an NCAAP  to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

It was commissioned March 20, 1944, and decommissioned October 12, 1945, weighed 1140 tons and was 289-feet long.

More to Come.  --GreGen