 USS Mason, DE-529, escorted convoys of merchant ships across the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. The destroyer escort was manned by mostly African American enlisted crew. Black sailors were restricted to service ratings like cooks and stewards. But this crew was permitted to train in combat ratings. Proud to serve and eager to fight, they protected convoys from German U-boats patrolling the Atlantic. In October 1944, Mason battled a new enemy, a severe North Atlantic storm. DE-529 had already escorted the most vulnerable ships of the convoy to safety in England when she lost communications with the fleet. The ship's deck split from the strain of the high seas and crushing waves. But instead of pulling into port for repairs, she returned to sea. The Mason crew repaired their ship as the storm raged on and rescued other ships in the convoy. Near Alfred Lynn, the convoy commander called DE-529 the Plucky Mason, Lynn recommended the crew for a letter of commendation, an honor they would not receive for more than 50 years. In 1994, the Navy awarded the letter of commendation to the surviving crew members of the Mason for their meritorious service and steadfast devotion to duty. In 1998, the Arleigh Burke class destroyer, DDG-87, USS Mason, was named to mark the contribution of the brave patriotic sailors of DE-529.