July 1944

Signalman Gordon Buchanan on duty

In July, the Mason found itself docked in Belfast.  Little did the crew know they were about to embark on one of their most positive experiences of the war.  

Below are a few quotes from the crew. Follow the link for more about this part of the Mason story.

"...Then we went to Ireland, and the Irish didn't look on us as our skin color.   They looked on us as Americans -- as American fighting men."  - William Bland

"When we went to Ireland ... It was like being liberated.  It was like something we had never experienced in this country in terms of, "You're welcome here and we love you."  That's literally how it was."  - Merwin Peters

" ... The only problem was we didn't stay there long enough. ..." - Gordon Buchanan

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