Two member's of USS Mason's crew pose in front of their ship. Norfolk, Virginia, was Jim Graham's least favorite duty station. Black sailors lived in drafty Quonset huts instead of regular barracks. Various forms of abuse were commonplace, both on and off the base. Still, the black sailors persevered, performed well, and achieved excellent test scores. In February of 1944 the black sailors were transferred from Norfolk to Boston, where they were to join their ship. "When we left Virgini a we went to Boston. They were building the ship in Boston. At the time we didn't know they were building a special ship for colored only. So we went to Boston and we had to go through more training, then we went onboard the Mason." Jim and his shipmates had anticipated that they were training to serve on a destroyer, but the Mason was
a considerably smaller destroyer escort, (a 1,140-ton Evarts-class DE). Though they did not possess the firepower of larger ships, the 289-foot DEs were, nonetheless, impressive vessels, and the navy commissioned 563 of them during the war. On deck they carried depth charges, deck guns, and machines guns; they were also outfitted with sophisticated sonar and radar equipment and could maintain 21-knot cruising speeds. These were valuable tools for their primary roles, anti-submarine warfare and convoy duty. USS Mason's keel was laid 14 October 1943. She was launched just over a month later and commissioned on 20 March 1944. She sailed with a crew of 160 black sailors, 44 white commissioned officers and petty officers, and was under the able command of LCDR William M. Blackford.
Gunnery drill onboard USS Mason
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Blackford was highly regarded by his crew. According to Graham, "Captain Blackford was a real navy captain. He was more interested in running a good navy ship than the integration and all this thing with race. He didn't care if you were black or white if you had respect for him." Following a shakedown cruise and additional preparation of ship and crew, USS Mason put to sea in June 1944, joining several other navy ships for convoy escort duty. The new destroyer escort participated in five convoys and several training exercises-German submarines were detected on several occasions. Although operating in a war zone and always at risk, she never entered active combat-something Jim and many of his shipmates had actually hoped to experience. Combat would have given them the ultimate opportunity to prove their merit as sailors. That point was demonstrated in other ways, most notably by their actions during the exploits of Convoy 119. While those on board the Mason knew well that blacks were capable seamen, the navy and the American public barely noticed. Jim was discharged from the navy in October 1945 . The Navy decommissioned USS Mason the same month and sold her for scrap two years later. The sailor and his ship had experienced brief but highly significant careers. Forty years after his wartime service, Jim began to notice that there was virtually no recognition of the role African Americans played in the navy during World War II. He would read about the navy and watch the History Channel, and although just about every other aspect of the war was covered in books, articles, and documentaries, he found absolutely no mention of USS Mason. He understood that his experiences ranked in historical significance with those of better-known all-black military units, such as the Buffalo Soldiers of the US Cavalry, the Tuskegee Airmen, and the 54th Massachusetts Regiment of Civil War fame, but where was the story of the Mason? When he retired in 1986, Jim dedicated his time to the dissemination of the Mason story. He was determined that his shipmates be acknowledged for their proper place in histo ry. Jim has a remarkable partner to support his efforts and work alongside him
SEA HISTORY 11 8, SPRING 2007