Family History Project

This website has a lot of information about my great-grandfathers ship and all of the things created about it.

Books about the USS Mason

Proud

DVD based on the true and heroic story of the USS Mason, a Navy battleship manned by an African-American crew during WWII, when segregation was still enforced.

Based on the book Proudly We Served by Mary Pat Kelly.

Proudly We Served: 
The Men of the USS Mason
by Mary Pat Kelly

This book tells the story of these brave African-American men and their contributions to the Allied victory. Their success had a direct impact on President Harry S Truman's decision to integrate all of America's armed forces after the war. Recommended in 1944 for a commendation for their heroic actions during a violent storm, the Mason sailors finally received that commendation in 1995, after the publication of this book in hardcover and the release of a companion documentary. The men and ship have been further honored by the Navy's decision to name a new destroyer (DDG 87) after the Mason and propagate its proud heritage into the twenty-first century.
Hardcover, 220 pages
List price $15.95

Better Than Good: 
A Black Sailor's War, 1943 -1945
     Author Adolph Newton became one of the very few African Americans to serve in the general enlisted ranks rather than as a mess attendant. In this intense, long-overdue memoir, he describes his life as a black seaman on an integrated warship, explaining how he dealt with discrimination and personal freedom and how, despite the difficulties, he developed a lasting affection for the Navy. Newton's story is representative of a generation of African Americans who came of age during the war, needing to prove themselves by fighting for a country that had denied them the full benefits of citizenship. A landmark work, it is the first memoir to be published by a black sailor in the forefront of Roosevelt's order to integrate the Navy. Based on journals he kept during the war, the book retains the raw emotions and expressions of a young sailor in the 1940s. He speaks candidly of race relations and how his views evolved from conversations with southern blacks, confrontations with prejudiced whites, and encounters with Europeans. And his story does not stop at war's end. Unable to find civilian employment that utilized his technical skills, he reenlisted in 1946 only to find the Navy more rigid than during the war. His reflections on life as a young black man who knew that just being good was not good enough make an important contribution to the record.
Hardcover, 208 pages
List price $28.95

On Board the USS Mason: 
The World War II Diary of James A. Dunn
Hardcover, 130 pages

I copied and pasted this from the website. I own the book Proudly We Served and I am going to look into getting some of the others for my project. 

Posted in: Family Project