James Mason is my dad. It has been his joy for many years now to share his experience and love of country at a school assembly on Veteran's Day. This year, at 94, he decided that it was time to let that go.. But he wanted to send a paper with a few details of his service on it so they could still hear from one of the few remaining soldiers from "the greatest generation." Here is what he sent them.
JAMES L. MASON.101st
Airborne, US ARMY, WW 2
It was my privilege to serve my country in World War 2,
and my privilege now to share my story and that of my brave comrades with a new
generation I hope will love this great nation enough to serve when they are called upon as well.
In April 1939,
almost ten years after the Great Depression began, more than one in five
Americans still could not find work. I joined the Army in 1939 in order to have
a little money. I signed up to go to Hawaii. The war hadn’t started for us
then, but I can’t tell you how proud I felt the first time I was on the parade
ground. The band played “Stars and Stripes Forever” while we marched up and
down the field. It seemed like I grew 6 inches that morning. I was so glad God
led me to unite with the United States Army and serve our great country.
PEARL HARBOR
I was stationed at Fort Shaftner in Hawaii. On December
7, 1941, early in the morning, the Japanese carried out a sneak attack on Pearl
Harbor. That morning, my boss had requested that I take his car to drive his
wife to her job. I drove her in towards town, and about 7 am we arrived in the
parking lot of John Rogers Airport. John Rogers Airport, just about 7 miles
from Pearl Harbor, was attacked by a large force of Japanese planes. I could see them coming from the east in my
rear view mirror to attack the ships in the bay. At this time they hit the ship
Missouri and destroyed it. Because of that, over 1000 men are still in a watery
grave.
We saw the smoke and planes, so I immediately turned back
and went back to Ft. Shafter, about 11 miles back. When I got there, women were in their
nightgowns and robes, and enlisted men and officers were all on the parade
grounds, watching the confusion, trying to figure out what was happening. Japanese
observation planes with the symbol of the Rising Sun painted on their sides
were swooping in so low, I could see the pilots, and even the goggles on their
faces.
At the very time of this attack, Japanese officials were
having a council meeting with our leaders in Washington, DC. It was such a
betrayal. This is why all history books call it a “day that will live in
infamy.” Because of this horrific attack, the United States was plunged into
the war. This was so impacting on our entire nation. More than 2500 soldiers
dies in one day, more than 1000 more were wounded, 18 American ships were
damaged or destroyed, and 300 airplanes. It was a deep wound. In fact, about a
dozen years later, our nation still hurt from the many losses of brothers,
fathers, and sons. A young Japanese student was ill and stranded in the small
town with no place the stay in the small town where I pastored. My family and I
opened our home for him to recuperate. A member of the community expressed the
sentiments of many when he said, “Mason is surely a better forgiver than I am.
I would never let a Japanese man in my house.”
That experience led me to Officer’s Candidate School, and
to paratrooper’s training. I was part of the Screaming Eagles, the 101st
Airborne. The training was very difficult—we started with 200, and ended up
with 103.
WINSTON CHURCHILL
Our regiment was requested to jump for Winston Churchill
and the other senior staff. We were placed on a hill somewhere in England to be
viewed by Churchill and his group. We gathered to positions. Half would jump
and the other half would stand would stand at attention, waiting for Churchill
and the group to review them. After Churchill reviewed us, our commander told
us we could break ranks. We gathered around Churchill’s jeep to hear him. He
stood in front of us on the passenger side of the jeep. We gathered around
quickly and placed ourselves as near him as possible. I was so close to him I
could have reached out and untied his shoelaces.
That man was so inspiring. He spoke with great compassion
about the suffering in Europe and passion about all the people who had been
hurt by Hitler. He told us how much the free world was counting on us. With hot
tears running down his face and cheeks, he spoke with urgency. “We have the
tools to win the war, but we need your help. Can we count on you men?”
He was asking us to make a commitment. I sensed in my
heart this was right and I made the commitment: “I am willing by God's help to do
my best.”
About 2 weeks before we would jump in Normandy, they
moved us into a marshaling area with a barricade around it so no one could
leave. They had built a sand table as large as a room, the exact replica of the
place we were to drop in Normandy.
Houses, railroads—they all were on there. The airplanes would fly over
and take photographs, and anything that changed, they would change on the sand
table so we knew how to best land. We trained, played cards, wrote home to our
loved ones, and tried to keep each other
cheered up.
D-DAY, THE JUMP
After about 12 days there, it was time to board the
troops. General Dwight Eisenhower came and encouraged us before we boarded at
about 8 pm. There was no laughing and joking on the plane. The men sat with
heads bowed, thinking about their families and home and what might transpire in
the next hours. When it was time to jump, we had to run out the door of the
plane, only seconds between us. There were 35 in our platoon, and we all went
together; 17 on my plane. I only saw 11 of them again. We dropped out around
midnight over Carentan, France, south in the
Normandy peninsula. We were to guard the
bridge there. But the air was red with tracer bullets. Planes were being shot
down and burning and it was raining. It was a terrible night. We had a jump
area, but now we couldn't fire because it was so dark. The pilots had to
scatter the planes to keep us from getting shot down.
So we were very scattered and disorganized when we landed. We had to find each other, and to do it, we had a little toy cricket. We used to get them in Cracker Jacks. Walking around alone in the dark, if we heard a noise we would click the cricket. If it was an American, he would click his back and then say the password, which was an American cigarette, like Marlboro. When someone clicked back, I would say, "I'm Lieutenant Mason, 101st Airborne. Fall in."
That's how I gathered up men. The men were from different outfits because of the scattered planes. I was only 21 years old. I've been asked many times if I was scared. Yes, I was scared. I was scared all the time I was in the war, but it didn't paralyze me. Even though I was scared, I did the best I could. I did what I was supposed to do. I remember walking across the field at one point in the pitch black, and I clicked and heard the other person clicking back to me. As we drew close, I saw it was my immediate supervisor. He was my idol. I ran up and hugged him. He didn't say anything, but his presence reassured me. I thought, "We'll be all right now."
June 7---It was a terrible night. Many died, but many of us lived to fight another day.
This was the area that the story "The Longest Day" comes from. We liberated many homes, and drove off many Germans. But on June 21, I was wounded in 11 places, and my arm was severely damaged. I looked down and saw white bones sticking out in two places. My leg was shot. I had enough presence of mind to take off my belt and put a tourniquet on my arm before shock took over. A piece of shrapnel the size of a hen’s egg had entered my side and stopped right before my liver. I was operated on in a tent field hospital right on the front line. I woke to witness 2 German first aid men pick me up and carry me on a stretcher to an ambulance that eventually got me on a plane to Winchester, England. I was in the hospital for six months there, and then I went back to limited service for the remainder of the war. I received a Purple Heart.
So we were very scattered and disorganized when we landed. We had to find each other, and to do it, we had a little toy cricket. We used to get them in Cracker Jacks. Walking around alone in the dark, if we heard a noise we would click the cricket. If it was an American, he would click his back and then say the password, which was an American cigarette, like Marlboro. When someone clicked back, I would say, "I'm Lieutenant Mason, 101st Airborne. Fall in."
That's how I gathered up men. The men were from different outfits because of the scattered planes. I was only 21 years old. I've been asked many times if I was scared. Yes, I was scared. I was scared all the time I was in the war, but it didn't paralyze me. Even though I was scared, I did the best I could. I did what I was supposed to do. I remember walking across the field at one point in the pitch black, and I clicked and heard the other person clicking back to me. As we drew close, I saw it was my immediate supervisor. He was my idol. I ran up and hugged him. He didn't say anything, but his presence reassured me. I thought, "We'll be all right now."
June 7---It was a terrible night. Many died, but many of us lived to fight another day.
This was the area that the story "The Longest Day" comes from. We liberated many homes, and drove off many Germans. But on June 21, I was wounded in 11 places, and my arm was severely damaged. I looked down and saw white bones sticking out in two places. My leg was shot. I had enough presence of mind to take off my belt and put a tourniquet on my arm before shock took over. A piece of shrapnel the size of a hen’s egg had entered my side and stopped right before my liver. I was operated on in a tent field hospital right on the front line. I woke to witness 2 German first aid men pick me up and carry me on a stretcher to an ambulance that eventually got me on a plane to Winchester, England. I was in the hospital for six months there, and then I went back to limited service for the remainder of the war. I received a Purple Heart.
I am proud and grateful to have served my country.
