Lorenzo DuFau (second from Left) and other Mason crew receive signal-Lamp instruction at the Norfolk Naval Training Station, Virginia. (US Navy photo, National Archives) ful to know that I played a small role in giving others an opportunity. I have the dream of all Americans together. As we neared the end of our journey, I as ked Mr. DuFau to se nd us a note about his experiences aboard USS Mason, and bring his relation with the ship's people up to dare. H ere is what he sent us: On November 27, 2001, I attended the dedication of a building for USS Mason (DE 529) at the Grear Lakes Training Station in Grear Lakes, Illinois. I was one of four Plankow ners there. It was a reunion for us who had served in USS Mason and also a very emotional experience for all. Our ship was an experiment by the US Navy to see if black sailors co uld do the job of running a ship. I enlisted June 1942. I received my "Boot Training" and attended Service School, Signalman at Great Lakes Naval T raining Center in Chicago. After about ten months' service on the li ghtship Fire Island, outside New York harbor, I was sent to DE Training School in
Virginia and assigned to USS Mason. It was ve ry rough being a member of a group trying to break down th e walls of prejudice that had been policy for years. Our ship was commissioned M arch 20, 1944. The Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, was cluttered with ice. We went aboard this ship of steel with no heat at all. I slept wirh my Dress Blues, turtleneck sweater and peacoat on. Our task gro up escorted several convoys across the Atlantic Ocean. We performed our jobs well, which made our ship look good . T he story is told in a book and video name Proudly We Served: The Men ofthe USS Mason, written by Mary Par Kelly. Our ship was decommi ss ion ed and sold to be scrapped following World War II. After many years of struggle, my shipmate James W. Graham, RM2C, succeeded in reuniting our crew in rhe USS Mason (DE 529) Association. So many things have brought us together in recenr years. A new ship, USS Mason (DDG 87) has been launched and is bein g fitted to be commissioned in 2003. When I look back over m y life I feel so proud that I have been abl e to be a part of something that has made rhis country a lirrle better. We all have rhe responsibility to preserve this nation. We began by having respect for ourselves and others. I am still looking forward to the day we become truly One Nation Under God. Mr. DuFau lives retired in th e Bronx, bur gets our on salt water on fishing trips from Sheepshead Bay whenever he can, while he works actively to keep alive the heritage of USS Mason. Ar our invitation, he tells his story next to the Ship Lore & Model C lub at South Street Seaport Museum in New York C ity. 1SUGGESTED READ! G: Proudly We Served: The Men of the USS Mason, by Mary Pat Kelly (Annapo lis MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995). USS Mason's valiant se rvice in wartime is described in The Ordeal ofConvoy NY 119, by C harles Dana G ibso n (Camden M E: Ensign Press, 1973 & 1976)
Quartermasters receive compass and navigation training at the Norfolk Naval Training Station, Virginia, in January 1944. (US Navy photo, National Archives) .-:....
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SEA HISTORY 100, SPRING 2002