USS ''Leonard F. Mason'' (DD-852) was a in the United States Navy. She was named for

Private First Class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ) ...

Leonard F. Mason Leonard Foster Mason (February 22, 1920 – July 22, 1944) served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Battle of Guam where he was mortally wounded. Biogra ...

USMC (1920–1944), who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the Battle of Guam.

Construction and career

''Leonard F. Mason'' was laid down on 6 August 1945 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard,

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

launched on 4 January 1946; sponsored by Mrs. Hillary Mason, mother of PFC Mason; and commissioned on 28 June 1946.

Service in the United States Navy

Following shakedown in the Caribbean, DD-852 joined Destroyer Division 32 (DesDiv 32) in the Pacific on 22 January 1947. From 1947 to 1950, the ship completed two cruises in the western Pacific, as well as stateside operations.

Korean War

During the early stages of the Korean War, ''Leonard F. Mason'' steamed for the Pacific on 13 November 1950 and joined in anti-submarine exercises. On 16 May 1951 she joined Task Force 85 (TF 85) at the siege of Wonsan to fire in the continuous shore bombardment which inflicted heavy damage on enemy bridges, tunnels, and troop concentrations. Bombardment was intense, and performed in cycles of 2, 3 and 5 minutes. While anchored in Wonsan, the North Koreans attempted to board the ship through the anchor chain, but were unsuccessful. Departing Wonsan on 23 July, she steamed for San Diego, California arriving 8 August 1951. After overhaul, the ship sailed on 23 February 1952 for the Orient, and again operated in Wonsan Harbor and along the eastern coast of Korea. Departing Yokosuka on 13 September, she arrived Long Beach on 27 September and remained there until 16 May 1953 when she again steamed for the Far East. Arriving in Korean waters on 9 June, ''Mason'' joined Task Group 70.1 (TG 70.1) for escort and bombardment action with the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

off Wonsan and in the Yellow Sea.

Suez Crisis

After the close of the Korean War, she departed Yokosuka on 20 November for Long Beach, arrived on 8 December, and readied herself for peacetime duty. Between 1954 and 1960 ''Leonard F. Mason'' made three more WestPac cruises, providing an element of security in the turbulent Far East. During the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

of November 1956 she sailed with

fast carrier Fast or FAST may refer to: * Fast (noun), high speed or velocity * Fast (noun, verb), to practice fasting, abstaining from food and/or water for a certain period of time Acronyms and coded Computing and software * ''Faceted Application of Subje ...

TF 11 on guard against any spread of trouble to the Far East. From May 1960 to May 1962, ''Leonard F. Mason'' was homeported at Yokosuka for anti-submarine patrols and other peacekeeping missions. During 1963 she underwent FRAM I conversion at

Boston Naval Shipyard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

, then returned by way of the west coast to Yokosuka on 21 July 1964. For the next two years, she operated with various task groups of the 7th Fleet, conducting gunfire support missions off the coast of Vietnam, patrolling in the Taiwan Straits, and serving in the Gemini Recovery Force.

Gemini 8

Long experience and training paid off on 17 March 1966 when Gemini VIII splashed down early, southeast of Okinawa, instead of the intended

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

landing site. ''Leonard F. Mason'' had

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

s Major David Scott, USAF, and

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. ...

and their capsule aboard within three hours and headed for Okinawa, where her passengers and cargo were offloaded the next day. File:S66-18613 (25211820883).jpg, Gemini 8 capsule being hoisted aboard ''Leonard F. Mason'' on 16 March 1966 File:S66-18603 (25537784400).jpg, Gemini 8 crew aboard ''Leonard F. Mason'' on 17 March 1966

Vietnam War

''Leonard F. Mason'' then returned to gunfire support chores off Vietnam until June. With an overhaul projected, her home port changed to Long Beach, California. She departed Yokosuka on 17 June and arrived at the west coast on 2 July. The remainder of the year was spent in diverse operations off the California coast, with a trip to

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

in November. On 5 January 1967 the destroyer entered

San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard The San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard was a short-lived shipyard formed in 1965 with the combination of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. The combined yards were the largest naval shipyard in the world, but the d ...

, Vallejo, California, for overhaul. She returned to Long Beach in May, then resumed local operations, including six weeks of refresher training. On 19 September she departed for WestPac, where she conducted plane guard duty on " Yankee Station" and naval gunfire support, until sailing for home, arriving Long Beach on 12 March. Her stay was not long, however, for she left once again for the Far East at the end of July. Yokosuka again became her homeport on 19 August 1968, and she continued to operate with the 7th Fleet, ranging from Japan to the South China Sea into 1969. In December 1972, ''Leonard F. Mason'' participated in " Operation Linebacker II", together with several other Navy destroyers shelled various targets along the coast of North Vietnam. During one mission, ''Leonard F. Mason'' came under severe shelling from coastal batteries. The ship's starboard rudder was severely damaged from a round that exploded near the fantail. A

chaff Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...

device misfired, streaming chaff instead of launching it away from the ship. This resulted in a bright trail on the screens of the coastal radar sites. Crew members reported hearing shell fragments hitting the hull numerous times. On 12 February 1973, ''Leonard F. Mason'' was the final U.S. warship of the Vietnam War to call at the base at

Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...

, Vietnam. From February to March 1973, ''Mason'' was attached to Task Force 78 and participated in " Operation End Sweep". ''Leonard F. Mason'' rode shotgun for the minesweepers clearing Hai Phong Harbor. On 2 November 1976, ''Leonard F. Mason'' was struck from the Naval Vessel Register.

Service in the Republic of China Navy

Following her striking, the destroyer was sold to the government of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

on 10 March 1978 and renamed ROCS ''Lai Yang'' or ''Shuei Yang''. The ship was decommissioned on 16 February 2000, and sunk on 11 April 2003 to create an artificial reef.

Awards

''Leonard F. Mason'' received three battle stars for her Korean War service.

Notes

References

External links

*
USS ''Leonard F. Mason'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard F. Mason (DD-852) Gearing-class destroyers of the United States Navy Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1946 ships Maritime incidents in 2003 World War II destroyers of the United States Cold War destroyers of the United States Korean War destroyers of the United States Vietnam War destroyers of the United States Chao Yang-class destroyers Ships sunk as artificial reefs Shipwrecks of Taiwan Space capsule recovery ships