"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)
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Charles D. Mason |
Charles Mason [detail from video] | World War II, 1939-1946; Korean War, 1950-1955
Marine Corps
1st Corps Medium Tank Battalion, 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division
Tarawa Atoll (Gilbert Islands); Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); also: Korea
Master Sergeant, E-7
Sullivan County, MO
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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 planewhose
rescued pilot gave a succinct assessment of American defense.
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