Charles D. Mason
Mason
Charles D.
MO
World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
Marine Corps; Marine Corps
1st Corps Medium Tank Battalion; 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division
Master Sergeant
Tarawa Atoll (Gilbert Islands); Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); also: Korea
Unknown
Veteran
"They rescued the Jap pilot and he spoke English. They asked him what he thought of our
defenses. He says, 'Your Navy gunfire stinks, but your pilots are damned good.'" (Video
Interview, 49:12)
Tanks aren't often associated with combat in the Pacific Theater of World War II, so
Charles Mason's detailed memories of commanding a tank (named Cecilia) during
several island invasions are important to our understandings of the mechanics of those
campaigns. Just getting a tank off a landing craft and onto a beach took immense skill
and fortitude. On Saipan, Mason watched as a Marine pilot who had just set down his
plane immediately took off again to shoot down a harassing Japanese plane—whose
rescued pilot gave a succinct assessment of American defense.
Charles Mason [detail from video]
The War
Diesel tanks could work for two minutes underwater; landing on Tarawa; his tank named Cecilia, after the commander’s girlfriend.
Listening to Tokyo Rose before leaving Hawaii for Saipan; she announced where his platoon was landing; the “calm” landing on Saipan; losing a tank in the water with no casualties; a close call with incoming shell.
Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.05431/
DLC-AFC
2023-06-05
loc.natlib.afc2001001.05431