Proudly We Served: The Men of the USS Mason

About the Book

Few Americans know the history-changing story of the men of the USS Mason, the only African-American sailors to take a World War II warship into combat. At a time when most blacks in the Navy were relegated to stewards or laborers, the crew of the USS Mason escorted six convoys across the perilous North Atlantic, helped to win the Battle of the Atlantic and directly influenced President Harry S. Truman's decision to integrate all of America's armed forces. Recommended in 1944 for a commendation for their heroic actions during a violent storm, the Mason sailors finally received that commendation in 1995. The Navy further honored the men by naming a new destroyer (DDG 87) after the crew of the Mason. This book is the basis of an award-winning PBS documentary and the feature film Proud starring Ossie Davis. The USS Mason story is featured in The National Museum of African American History and Culture.

About the Author :

Mary Pat Kelly is an award-winning author and filmmaker whose credits include Galway Bay, Of Irish Blood, and the feature film Proud.

Review :
"For decades African Americans were missing in our memories of World War II....In helping to show the world what America was against, you helped to show America what America is for. You helped liberate us all from segregation." --President Bill Clinton to the crew of the USS Mason and other African-American veterans during a 1994 ceremony in Washington

"Up until 1942, admission of black Americans to the U.S. Navy was limited to slots as cooks or waiters. This book tells the story of the USS Mason; all of the positions of enlisted service were held by African Americans and the ship served as a convoy escort on six occasions across the Atlantic during World War II. Kelly presents the early lives and motivations of 10 or 12 of the young sailors and follows them through their enlistment, time in boot camp, getting rated, and selection for duty on the Mason. Thereafter, she details the commissioning, shake down cruise, and convoy action through to the decommissioning at the close of the war. The photographs and actual commentaries of the men; their reminiscences; and letters, diaries, and photographs add immediacy. Their careers to the present are also included. Like the stories of the Civil War black regiments, the Buffalo soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen, and the like, this account covers a period of history that made great demands on an underrated portion of the citizenry and opened opportunity to full equality." — School Library Journal

"In another worthwhile addition to the history of both World War II and the African American role in the navy, Kelly tells the story of the Mason, a destroyer escort commissioned with white officers and a predominantly African American crew. The ship performed a variety of duties, particularly in Atlantic convoys, entirely creditably, while her crew battled weather, supply shortages, the Germans, official indifference, and the outright racism manifested both in the U.S. and abroad. That the Mason experiment in race relations took so long to bear fruit in terms of equitable treatment for African Americans in the U.S. Navy reflects little credit on that service. Rather, the Mason`s record reflects great credit on the men who manned her and who here have their story told for the first time." — Booklist