Seventy-Five Years Ago: USS Mason (DE 529) is Commissioned

On a snowy morning 75 years ago, two crew members of the new destroyer escort Mason (DE 529) pause on a pier at Boston Navy Yard next to their ship. (RG80/ National Archives and Records Administration)

The crew of the destroyer escort USS Mason (DE 529) appear in dress blues on the ship's forecastle while moored at New York Harbor during World War II. (Donation of James W. Graham, 1991. Naval History and Heritage Command image)

By M.C. Farrington
HRNM Historian
Seventy-five years ago this week the destroyer escort Mason (DE 529) was commissioned at Boston Navy Yard, where it was built.  Although we typically commemorate milestones in the history of a ship such as its commissioning and the major campaigns it might have been involved in, it is the crew that brings the ship to life and imbues its service with meaning.  There aren't many better examples of this than the meaning of the Mason's mission: to show that a crew composed mostly of African-American Sailors could fulfill their duties as well as the crew of any other ship could.  That some leaders in the Navy were still skeptical that such a crew could succeed and even called the venture an "experiment" is evidence of how far the Navy had to go before it could truly be representative of the populace it purportedly protected.

Navigation instruction for Quartermasters, during training for Mason's crew at Naval Training Station Norfolk, Virginia, January 3, 1944. Instructor is Chief Quartermaster L.J. Russell, USNR (right). Trainees are (left to right): Quartermaster 2nd Class Charles W. Divers, Quartermaster 2nd Class Royal H. Gooden, Quartermaster 3rd Class Lewis F. Blanton, and Quartermaster 2nd Class Calvin Bell. (Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives)

Although basic training for most of the crew was completed at Camp Robert Smalls at Naval Training Station (NTS) Great Lakes, NTS Norfolk had transitioned in 1943 from its original mission of providing standard basic training into a mission centered around producing qualified destroyer escort Sailors, so many of Mason's crew members had undergone training at NTS Norfolk. Some of the more senior African-American petty officers had also undergone training at nearby Hampton Institute, which until 1944 served as one of the few places in the Navy where African-American Sailors could receive advanced training outside the Messman Branch.

A graduating class at the Messman School in Norfolk, 1943. (Hampton Roads Naval Museum file)

Before Chief of Naval Operations Ernest King directed in January 1944 that Mason and the submarine chaser PC-1264, which was commissioned in April, be staffed with qualified African-American petty officers, the only training that black Sailors were allowed to take at NTS Norfolk was at the Messman School there.     

The decision to open destroyer escort training to African-American Sailors in Norfolk began the dismantlement of the system of segregation in the Navy that had held sway since the administration of Woodrow Wilson.     

Signalman 1st Class Ernest V. Alderman (left) administers signal lamp instructions during training for Mason's crew at the Naval Training Station Norfolk, Virginia, on January 3, 1944.  Trainees are (left to right): Signalman 2nd Class Lorenzo A. Dufu, Signalman 2nd Class Julius Holmes, and Signalman 1st Class  William M. Jones. (Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives)

Gunner's mates to be assigned to the destroyer escort USS Mason (DE 529) assemble and study a 20mm machine gun, the type they will man aboard ship, under the instruction of Chief Gunner's Mate Rex Ashley during training for at Naval Training Station Norfolk, Virginia, on January 3, 1944.  The trainees are (left to right): Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Albert A. Davis, Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Frank Wood, and Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Warren Vincent. (Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives)

Editorial Discrimination: The Norfolk Seabag and African American Mess Attendants

By Elijah Palmer
Hampton Roads Naval Museum Educator

Although many African Americans had served in the military during World War I, the Navy decreased the number of black Sailors in the years following the Armistice. By the early 1930s, there were not many left. But in 1933, the Navy started accepting new African American recruits into the Mess Attendant School at Norfolk. It should be remembered that other rates were closed to black sailors at this time.

Historical marker on Naval Station Norfolk (image from www.markerhistory.com)

In many ways, the Navy mirrored American society. Segregation and institutional racism towards African American Sailors can be seen by examining the pages of The Norfolk Seabag, the naval station's official newspaper.  Much coverage was aimed at new recruits and shared advice, events, and jokes. In this vein, the paper highlighted "honor men" almost every week, sharing names and biographical information (hometown, etc.). Starting in the mid-1930s, most issues included some pictures of the Sailors being mentioned. However, it was not until 1938 that the Seabag mentioned any mess attendant trainees from K-West or B-East. To make matters worse,  the paper did not include any pictures of the black Sailors chosen to be honor men, even while the number of pictures of white sailors increased.

While the Seabag did not present pictures of any African American honor men, the editors found it fitting to include this caricature of a mess attendant as decoration for one of the holiday menus. Clearly at least some viewed Sailors of color as only fitting into this stereotype.

The first picture of an African American sailor found in issues of the Seabag from 1934-1942 was on page four of the November 28, 1942 issue.  The story that went with it was about a young recruit who had walked 224 miles (over four trips) to enlist after being turned away several times. Although it was a tale of patriotism and perseverance, the writer was also patronizing in the way he overemphasized the young recruit's dialect.

In 1942, the Mess Attendant School was moved from Norfolk.  That same year, more ratings were opened up to African American Sailors.  Part of this shift was likely influenced by national recognition of two famous graduates of the mess attendant school at Norfolk, Dorie Miller and Leonard Harmon.  They were honored for their heroism at Pearl Harbor and Guadalcanal, respectively. Navy ships were later named after both of them.

The Mess Attendant School was an important part of naval history in Norfolk.  The slights received from the Seabag were indicative of some of the challenges that black sailors encountered during that era.  While the situation for African Americans gradually improved during World War II, there was still segregation and other problems, just as in most of American society.  As painful and shameful as some of this history appears, it is crucial that we remember and continue to tell these stories so that we do not forget.