A Navy Segregated by Ship,
Jim Graham and the Story of USS Mason, DE-529 by Fred Calabrerra arrered by a fierce Atlantic storm, Convoy 119 struggled in to port at Falmouth, England, on 17 October 1944 . The convoy consisted of Army tugs, barges, and other small vessels accompanied by an escort of US Navy ships, and it had endured a harrowing transAdanti c crossing in brutal weather conditions, encountering ninety-knot winds and seas nearing sixty feet high . By the time the convoy was in sight of the British coast, several vessels and a number of men had become casualties of the storm. One of the navy ships, the destroyer escort USS Mason, DE-529 , had sustained severe damage, including split deck seams and o ther serious structural problems. As
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to these men. They had experienced it all their lives. USS Mason was the first ship in the history of the US Navy to have an allblack crew. (A m onth later the navy com missioned a patrol boat, PC-1264, which also had an all-black crew. Unlike the Mason, the operations of PC-1264 were limited to coastal duties.) USS Mason's officers were wh ite, but her crew of 160 men was entirely African American. The men were not only participants in the historic events of World War II but also in an extraordinary chapter in US naval history. Service on USS Mason was a defining experience in the life of Jim Graham, whose story is both representative of his shipmates yet also highly personal. High
USS Mason, DE-529, in camouflage
the harsh weather continued, her crew focused on making emergency repairs. Jim G raham, Radioman 2nd class on the Mason, recalls what occurred next. "When we got in to Falmouth, we had seams cracked on the ship, and we welded it and went our to rescue the other ships. We went out there and rounded up the stragglers and brought them in." Soon after the last of the convoy reached port, its commander submirred a report endorsing a commendation for the Mason's crew. He noted that two British naval ships had joined the Mason, heading back out to sea to assist several vessels still struggling to reach the safety of the port. In the face of 40-foot seas, the British ships turned back, while USS Mason co ntinued on and completed her work. Jim Graham and his shipmates had responded to the situation with the determination and pride typical of the crew of a US Navy ship when confronted with adversity. This was not a typical navy ship, however, and adversity was no thing new
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winds, massive seas, and the threat of German submarines were new challenges for Jim, but he was all too fami liar w ith another form of adversity-racism. Growing up black in the sm all South Carolina town of Lake City, he had ample experience wi th racism. He was born in 1922, at a time and place when strict segregation was a way of life and hatred and brutality had a very real presence. Jim's mother died when he was a young boy, and the care of eight children became the sole responsibility of Jim's father. George Graham managed to provide good care for his fam ily; in fact, Jim recalls that they were one of the few black families in the area with electricity in their home. George G raham succeeded by "knowing his place," which was an important survival mechanism for blacks in the segregated South. H e acted subserviently in the presence of whites, which was upsetting to Jim and his brothers. They som etimes referred to him as an "Uncle Tom," something Jim deeply regrets. Today, he
understands his father was doing what was necessary in order to survive in an atmosphere of severe racism . At the outbreak of the Second World War, Jim was in his late teens and ready for a change-maybe even a little adventure. The military seem ed to have the potential to offer both . As with many yo ung men who enter the armed forces, Jim acknowledges that he was not, at the time, motivated by a sense of patriotism. "To be honest, it was more of an adventure. You know, New York C ity, the tall buildings, Chicago, things like that. A berrer way of life. Freedom. You know, in those days we walked the streets in South Carolina and if a whi te person came down the street you jumped aside." ''About six of us decided we would go down and enlist in the Air Force. I wanted to be a pilot. So we went down to Charleston and the guy told us right away that there were no Negroes in the Air Force ... Coming back home, we passed a navy recruiting station. And there was a navy recruiter... H e said why don't you enlist in the navy. I said no, I'm not going to cook for anybody, I'm not going to clean for anybody... and he said, well, yo u don't have to go into the navy in the steward branch, you can go in the sam e as the white guys ... so we signed up." Jim was inducted in August of 1942. His timing was significant. Opportunities for blacks had fluctuated dramatically throughout the navy's history. During Jim Graham in uniform
SEA HISTORY 118, SPRING 2007