A4 | THE FLAGSHIP | FEB 9, 2012 | FLAGSHIPNEWS.COM

By David ToddThe Flagship Managing Editor

NORFOLKDuring Black History

Month, the New Journal andGuide and the NewsomeHouse Museum and CulturalCenter in Newport News arepresenting a special exhibitdedicated the Navy men whoserved on the USS Mason(DE 529), called “BlackPride At Sea: The Men ofthe USS Mason.” The ex-hibit pays special attentionto the role of the Black Pressand the untold heroism ofthe men who served on theship during World War II.

The Mason, a 1,140-ton Evarts-class destroyerescort, was constructedat the Boston Navy Yardin Massachusetts and wascommissioned on March 20,1944. Although there werenumerous other escort shipslike the Mason, it was thenation’s first ship mannedby a predominantly blackenlisted crew – 160 enlisted.The additional crew includ-ed six officers, who werewhite.

Named in honor of Ens.Newton Henry Mason, apilot with Fighting Squad-ron Three who was killed inaction during the Battle ofCoral Sea in May of 1942,the ship was employed onconvoy escort duties in theAtlantic Ocean and Mediter-ranean Sea through the re-mainder of World War II. Inthe early post-war months,she served as a training andexperimental ship. Someat the time called the ship“Eleanor’s Folly,” referringto First Lady Eleanor Roos-evelt’s efforts to desegregatethe military and her cam-paign for equal opportunityin the military. The ship wasnot expected to succeed.

“I really got interested inthe project about five or sixyears ago when the Nauticushad a showing of the movie‘Proud’ during Black His-tory Month,” said BrendaH. Andrews, Publisher, NewJournal and Guide. “Oneof the Mason men, Loren-zo DuFau (Signalman 2ndClass), was there as one ofthe special guests. To be per-fectly honest, that was thefirst time I had heard of the

USS Mason.”After viewing the movie

and talking at length withDuFau, the Mason began tospark a personal interest forAndrews.

“My main interest, at thattime and now continuing,was the role of the BlackPress – and particularly theJournal and Guide staff thatactually told that story,” shesaid. “In the book ‘ProudlyWe Served,’ written by MaryPat Kelly, she read an articlethat Thomas W. Young, fromthe Journal and Guide, hadwritten on how they (theMason crew) were treated inIreland.”

According to the book,Kelly talks about the North-ern Ireland port of call, ashaving a profound effect

on the crew. Young evendevoted a whole article onthe experience, titled, “IrishFirst to Treat Mason Crew asAmericans.”

Young was commissionedby the Navy as a war corre-spondent aboard the Mason.While embedded, his jobwas to report on this histo-ry-making venture, but ulti-mately it was his articles andphotos that kept the ship,and the crew’s, stories alivethrough the years.

“In today’s era, to thinkof people doing the kindsof jobs they were doing ispretty routine,” said An-drews. “But, travel back60 years, and these werethe first men of color whowere given an opportunityto do things that people do

on ships – engineering, gun-nery, navigation.”

Mason’s crew is mostnotably remembered fortheir courageous actions inthe North Atlantic duringConvoy NY-119, where thecrew and the ship were putto the test.

During the worst NorthAtlantic storm of the cen-tury, the Mason performedan astounding feat when thestrength of the storm forcedthe convoy of sea-goingtugs, harbor tugs, yard tank-ers and barges – headed toEngland – to break up. TheMason was chosen to escorta section of ships to theirdestinations.

As winds increased, theMason was pushed to itsstructural limit, and the decksplit. Two beams in onecompartment collapsed andthe seam holding the deck

together had broken, leavingthe ship at risk of sinking.Despite the ordeal, the crewdidn’t give up. Within twohours, the deck was repaired,a new antenna was in serviceand water had been pumpedfrom the engine room.Mason stayed at sea threemore days, assisting 12 ad-ditional ships in the convoy.

Lt. Cmdr. William “Bill”Blackford, Mason’s captain,recommended his crew forindividual commendationfor their efforts in savingConvoy NY-119, but itwasn’t until 1994, as a resultof efforts by CongressionalBlack Caucus Congress-man Charles Rangel of NewYork, a national tribute byPresident William JeffersonClinton was held to honorthe pioneering work of theforgotten African Americanheroes of the Mason, along

with other African Americanveterans of World War II.

Andrews has vowed tocontinue her research totry to uncover more storiesand photos about these his-toric men. The NewsomeHouse Museum and CulturalCenter is also doing theirpart to help tell the story.

“What we try to do isfill in the gaps that the his-tory books don’t provide,”said Donna Davis, HistoricSite Curator, The NewsomeHouse Museum and CulturalCenter. “So, we talk aboutlittle known Black Historyfacts. A lot of things thatwere prevalent in the com-munity, but not very wellpublicized in these days.”

While at the NewsomeHouse Museum and Cul-tural Center, many are en-couraged to stay and watchthe motion picture, “Proud:Based on the true story ofthe men of the USS Mason.”The movie features OssieDavis, playing the part ofDuFau, and was his last bigscreen performance beforehis death in 2005.

“The movie was providedby Brenda Andrews,” saidDavis. “So when peoplecome to see the exhibit ofthe USS Mason, they arealso invited to sit and watchthe movie,” said Davis.

Next week we will con-tinue by taking a deeperlook into Mason’s crew andalso see how the USS Mason(DDG 87) keeps DE-529’slegacy alive.

series | part 1

Courtesy of New Journal & Guide | Randy Singleton

USS Mason fea-tured at NewportNews Museum What we

try to do isfill in thegaps thatthe historybooksdon’tprovide”

- Donna Davis,Historic Site

Curator

Exhibit offers insight into African American WWII Sailors

New Journal and Guide archive photo

The crew of theUSS Mason (DE529) consistedof 160 enlistedand six officers,of which theenlisted crew waspredominantlyblack.

Donna Davis,Historic SiteCurator, TheNewsomeHouse Museumand CulturalCenter; BrendaH. Andrews,Publisher, NewJournal andGuide; andCommandMaster ChiefRaymond D.Kemp, USSMason (DDG87) at the open-ing of the USSMason exhibit inNewport News.

! the museumThe Newsome HouseMuseum and CulturalCenter is located at 2803Oak Ave. in Newport News.It is open to the publicThurs. - Sat. from 10 a.m.to 5 p.m. (Mon. - Wed. byappointment only).

The exhibit is free, withsuggested adult donationof $2. For more information,call 246-2360, or visit www.newsomehouse.org

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FLAGSHIPNEWS.COM | FEB 16, 2012 | THE FLAGSHIP | A9

By David ToddThe Flagship Managing Editor

NORFOLKThe story of the USS Mason

(DE 529), a World War IIEvarts-class destroyer escort,offers a detailed look into navalhistory and its heroic crew.Hailed as the nation’s first shipmanned by a predominantlyblack enlisted crew, the shipand her crew were often putto the test, tasked with inter-cepting and decoding GermanU-boat messages and escort-ing supply convoys across theAtlantic, all the while havingto overcome the constraints ofsegregation and racism of thetime.

Although Mason’s crew haddefinite highs and lows duringthe 19 months of active service,the overall experience was pos-itive and they helped pave theway for equality in the ArmedForces. The crew mastered allrates and skills, moving at ac-celerated paces from the lowestto highest enlisted ranks, andproved that they could performduties just as well, and some-times better, than their whitecounterparts. A task that manythought would be a failure.

The legacy of DE-529 liveson today through the currentcrew of USS Mason (DDG87), an Arleigh Burke-classdestroyer, homeported inNorfolk. The ship’s motto is,“Proudly We Serve,” a symbol-ic nod to the Sailors of DE-529who sailed and made history inthe defense of our country.

“I’m responsible for theESWS (Enlisted Surface War-fare Specialist) program, andthrough the program it is re-quired that (Sailors) knowthe history of the ship and thenamesake of the ship,” saidCommand Master Chief Ray-mond D. Kemp, USS Mason(DDG 87). “DE-529 wasnamed for Ens. Newton HenryMason, who died in WorldWar II, and he was the distantcousin of John Y. Mason, whowas the former secretary of theNavy.”

As a part of ESWS qualifi-cations, Sailors are required toknow the history and heritageof the USS Mason.

“Of course there are manyother portions of ESWS, butthat heritage piece, they haveto know,” said Kemp. “WhenSailors check onboard the ship,they go through indoctrina-tion – indoctrination is partof the ‘Brilliant on the Basis’program, so every Sailor hasa sponsor and they go throughindoctrination when they firstcome to the ship – part of ourindoctrination, (Sailors) watchthe movie ‘Proud,’ which isabout DE-529. That’s how weintegrate those two together forevery member of the ship.”

The movie “Proud,” re-volves around the recalledstory of Signalman 2nd ClassLorenzo DuFau, played byactor Ossie Davis, and theinspirational tale of USS Ma-son’s (DE 529) predominatelyblack crew during World WarII. Most importantly, the moviestands as a historical look backin time during the 40s and howthese brave Sailors overcameoccupational struggles, racismand a storm that nearly pushedthe ship to its structural limits.In the end, the Mason crew washeroic and proved they couldstand toe-to-toe alongside theirpeers of all races and back-grounds.

Kemp had the honor ofmeeting DuFau for the firsttime in October of 2011. Un-beknownst to him, DuFau isactually the uncle of one of hisclose friends.

“Interestingly, one of myfriends told me about her unclewho had served in the Navyand was in some of the U-boatbattles in World War II,” saidKemp. “Years later, I realizedher uncle was SM2 LorenzoDuFau. I was super excitedwhen I got orders to the Mason

and when I found out I wasconnected to this legacy of her-oism through a family friend –how exhilarating!”

Kemp arranged for someof his crew members fromDDG-87 to go to a film festi-val in Jersey City, N. J. where“Proud” was being reviewed.There, some of the crew mem-bers had the distinct honor ofmeeting DuFau and listened tohis stories first-hand.

“A few of the Sailors werein tears, due to the powerfulwords of endurance, persever-ance, honor, duty and serviceto our country,” explainedKemp. “He made quite an im-pression and his words had animpact on my Sailors and me.”

Mason gets her first crew

The first crew of the Masonbegan their military service bygoing to boot camp at CampRobert Smalls in Great Lakes,Ill. The camp was named forRobert Smalls, a hero of theAmerican Civil War whocommandeered a Confederatefreighter and navigated it skill-fully to the North. It is said thatmany of the crew membersfound disappointment in bootcamp because the facility wassegregated due to the Jim Crowlaws of the time. Jim Crowlaws were state and local lawsin the U.S., enacted between1876 and 1965, that mandated“separate, but equal” facilitiesfor black Americans.

“DE-529 was actually set upas a ‘social experiment,’ in factit was often times referred to as‘Eleanor’s Folly,’” said Kemp.“Socially, America was just ina different place and once that‘experiment’ was found to bea very positive one, more inte-gration followed. Now, our di-versity is from the command-er-in-chief to every Seaman,Airman, Fireman that’s al-

lowed to come into the Navy.So, we are certainly muchmore diverse at every level.”

Although technology hasadvanced significantly throughthe years, the men of theMason held jobs very similarto today’s Navy.

“In those days, they didn’thave sonar technicians at thelevel of ours, but they did haveradiomen, which are now IT’s(information systems techni-cians), they had OS’s (opera-tions specialists), and signal-men, which are quartermastersnow,” explained Kemp. “So, alot of those ratings we do stillhave.”

Many of these jobs and ex-periences were documentedin the Norfolk-based Journaland Guide, currently on ex-hibit through the end of Feb-ruary at the Newsome HouseMuseum and Cultural Centerin Newport News. The exhibitis called “Black Pride At Sea:The Men of the USS Mason.”

“The exhibit itself, I think,for Sailors to see some of thepersonal stories of the Sail-ors who were on DE-529,there’s always value in whatwe would call ‘sea stories,’”said Kemp. “There is alwaysa value in seeing the officialreport of what that crew wasdoing. I would say that, whatSailors would get – especiallyMason Sailors, but any Sailor,black or white – a sense of ourheritage to see from whencewe’ve come and to see thepersonal stories that (emotion-ally) attach you to those crewmembers.”

Black History Month isan opportunity to rememberand celebrate the accom-plishments of African Amer-ican’s throughout historyand the positive impact theyhave had towards America’ssuccess. It’s also a great op-portunity to honor the fear-

less men of DE-529.“All of us should be aware

of this great meritocracy, inwhich we serve, was earnedby Sailors like SM2 DuFauand his shipmates – theircourageous efforts paved away for integration of all rat-ings, career fields and warfareareas,” said Kemp. “It is vitalthat we take time and be ac-quainted with these great menand draw further inspiration,motivation and dedicationfrom their example. ‘ProudlyWe Serve!’”

Next week we will concludethe series and take a final lookat the crew of the USS Mason(DE 529) and the roll jour-nalism played in document-ing their historical presence.

series | part 2

Courtesy of CMDCM Raymond D. Kemp, USS Mason (DDG 87)Signalman 2nd Class Lorenzo DuFau (left) speaks with several crew members from USS Mason (DDG87) after a showing of the movie “Proud.” His powerful words of endurance, perseverance, honor, dutyand service to the country made a lasting impression on the Sailors.

U.S. Navy archive photo

Exhibit offers insightinto African AmericanWWII SailorsMason legacylives on throughDDG-87

! the museumThe Newsome HouseMuseum and CulturalCenter is locatedat 2803 Oak Ave. inNewport News, andis open to the publicThurs. - Sat. from 10a.m. to 5 p.m. (Mon. -Wed. by appointmentonly).

The exhibit is free,with suggested adultdonation of $2. Formore information, call246-2360, or visit www.newsomehouse.org.

New Journal and Guide archive photoA clipping from the Journal and Guide, featuring the writing of Thomas W.Young, a war correspondent aboard USS Mason (DE 529.)

USS Mason(DE 529) crewmembers lookproudly attheir ship whilemoored at theBoston NavyYard in Boston,Mass., March20, 1944.

The Mason wasan Evarts-classdestroyer escortduring WorldWar II. It wascommissionedon March 20,1944 and de-commissionedon Oct. 12,1945.

It is vital that we take time and beacquainted with these great men anddraw further inspiration, motivationand dedication from their example.”

- Command Master Chief Raymond D. Kemp

FLAGSHIPNEWS.COM | FEB 23, 2012 | THE FLAGSHIP | A9

! the museumThe Newsome HouseMuseum and CulturalCenter is locatedat 2803 Oak Ave. inNewport News, andis open to the publicThurs. - Sat. from 10a.m. to 5 p.m. (Mon. -Wed. by appointmentonly).

The exhibit is free,with suggestedadult donationof $2. For moreinformation, call 246-2360, or visit www.newsomehouse.org.

By David ToddThe Flagship Managing Editor

NORFOLKDuring World War II, hun-

dreds of thousands of blackmen were given the opportu-nity serve in the military, buta majority of these men wereonly allowed to serve in asupport capacity.

In the Navy, black menoften held jobs as stewardsand were tasked with man-ning the Officers’ Mess andmaintained the officers’ bil-

lets aboard the ships. Somewere also engaged in messmanagement, menu planningand purchasing supplies.

For the enlisted crew ofthe USS Mason (DE 529),an Evarts-class destroyerescort, the opportunity toserve aboard a U.S. Navyship during the war was notonly a chance to defend thecountry, it was also a chancefor job and racial equality. Infact, it was the first time thatblack men were able to holdjobs like sonar technicians,

signalmen and operationsspecialists in the Navy.

“These were the first menof color who were givenan opportunity to do thingsthat people do on ship,” saidBrenda H. Andrews, Publish-er, New Journal and Guide.

Black journalists alsoplayed an important part inthat equation. They coveredthe war conflicts and reportedon what they saw, and like alljournalists traveling with themilitary at the time, what theysaw was restricted and whatthey published was often cen-sored.

Thomas W. Young, a jour-nalist from the Journal andGuide in Norfolk, was com-missioned by the Navy as awar correspondent aboardthe Mason. While embedded,his job was to report on thishistory-making venture, andit was his articles and photosthat kept the ship, and thecrew's, stories alive throughthe years.

“During this time, theBlack Press was very in-strumental in covering thoseWorld War II stories,” saidAndrews. “There were fiveblack newspapers, that werecalled ‘national newspapers,’

The Journal and Guide wasone of them – The BaltimoreAfro-American, The NewYork Amsterdam News, TheChicago Defender and ThePittsburg Courier – were allpower houses. The interest-ing thing about that lineupis that the Journal and Guidewas the only one below theMason-Dixon line.”

That fact was significantbecause being below theMason-Dixon line and beingheadquartered in a South-ern town, the Journal andGuide was under differentconstraints than some of theother black publications ofthe time.

“The publisher of theJournal and Guide, P.B.Young (founder), had todo his stories in a way thathe got the story out, but hedidn’t get run out of town,”explained Andrews. “If youare in Chicago, you canpretty much call a spade aspade. Or if you are in Pitts-burg, or New York, or evenBaltimore, but if you are inNorfolk, Va., then when youcall a spade a spade, some-times it is clothed in someother language that may bemore palatable to the envi-ronment that you are operat-ing out of.”

The Journal and Guideplayed a major part in tell-ing not only the ‘sea stories,’but also many of the press-ing issues that faced the localblack community.

“The Black Press, in par-ticular the Journal and Guide,

covered all the major storiesof the day,” said Andrews.“Certainly the war storieswere significant, and thatwas in telling families here(in Norfolk) how their sonswere being treated abroadand bringing that story back.”

During the early 40s and50s, the Black Press becamea vehicle to record the storiesof racial equality, civil rightsaccolades and social advance-ment in the United States.

“When it came to desegre-gation of the schools, whenit came to integration of thevarious job forces, thesewere all covered in the BlackPress,” she said. “Up until the1950s, The Black Press wasreally the only place whereblack people could read aboutthemselves, and about whothey were. That continued inthe 1960s when we began tohave more desegregated envi-ronments.”

Through the end of Feb-ruary, the New Journal andGuide, a successor of theJournal and Guide, and theNewsome House Museumand Cultural Center in New-port News are presenting aspecial exhibit dedicated theNavy men who served on theUSS Mason (DE 529), called“Black Pride At Sea: TheMen of the USS Mason.” Theexhibit pays special attentionto the role of the Black Pressand the untold heroism of themen who served on the shipduring World War II.

“Our exhibit is primarilycentered around the Journal

and Guide and around thestories that P.B. Young toldabout how the men felt on thisfirst mission,” explained An-drews. “We have 10 full page(newspapers) from 1944.”

Uncovering these docu-ments was quite challeng-ing for Andrews, becausealthough the historical pageshave been digitized, thefiling conventions were oftenunique to specific writers andevents.

“What we discovered issometimes things had beendigitized under another name,so you’ve kind of got to knowthe other name as well,” saidAndrews. “… With the Navymen of the USS Mason, I be-lieve they were called ‘BlueJackets,’ so they may havebeen filed under that versusUSS Mason.”

Ultimately, the exhibit isa way for Hampton Roadsresidents – military and non-military – to experience amoment history and reflect onthe accomplishments of Ma-son’s crew and to celebrateBlack History Month.

“This is a Navy town, thisis a Navy story, this is a greatAmerican story,” said An-drews, “that until 1994 wasjust in the minds of thoseremaining USS Mason menand in the pages of blacknewspapers.”

series | part 3

Naval History and Heritage Command archive photo

USS Mason (DE 529)crew members mus-tered in Dress Blueson the ship’s bow whilemoored at New YorkHarbor, New York.

Exhibit offers insightinto African AmericanWWII SailorsJournalism helped preserveMason’s (DE-529) legacy Courtesy of THEntertainment

War correspondent, Thomas W.Young, aboard the USS Masonin 1944, as seen in the movie“Proud.” Actor Darnell Williamsportrayed Young in the film.

New Journal and Guide archive photo

During thistime, the BlackPress was veryinstrumental incovering thoseWorld War IIstories.”

- Brenda H. Andrews

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