Proudly We Served: The Men of the USS Mason

My father (Wm.H. Farrell) was one of the officers on the Mason. He was the Engineering officer. When I was a kid, he "regaled" me with stories about the ship and crew. His favorites were the dog that got tossed into the drink off of Newfoundland, the big storm the ship experienced in I believe '44, and the time they were in port in the Azores and woke up to find a German submarine berthed near by to them. He thought very highly of the 1st Captain (Binford?). I think in general, he was pleased with the effort that Mary Kelly gave to this book. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I found out that the crew was black Americans. My father was always interested in the ship first (and especially the engine room!) and never distinquished crew members to me by their color.

Although this book covers a very interesting time period and the story of the men USS Mason, it lacks readability. The tool of letting each person tell his story at each phase of the action leaves the book disjointed and hard to read. Historically it is wonderful and that Ms. Kelly told this story is admirable but this is not the way to do future books. The history and subject of this book make it a must read despite the disjointed story telling.

Mary Pat Kelly's Proudly We Served strikes an important balance. She successfully weaves the narrative with the men's own words, which are poignant and powerful. The battles they faced on shore with racism and with the US Navy were as tough as facing German U-Boats in the Atlantic. This book is vital because it points to a significant historical event that even naval historians aren't familiar with: the only African American crew on a US warship in WWII