Mason, Leonard F.
Leonard Foster Mason was born on 2 February 1920 in Middlesboro, Kentucky. He moved to Lima, Ohio and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps from that state in 1942. After completing recruit training at the Marine Recruit Depot at Parris Island, South Carolina, he departed for combat duty in the Pacific war zone. A month after joining the Third Marines, Third Marine Division, he participated in the Bougainville campaign. While serving with the Marines, he attained the rank of Private First Class.
On 22 July 1944, Mason served as an Automatic Rifleman with the Second Battalion of his division against Japanese forces on the Asan-Adelup Beachhead on Guam, Marianas Islands. Held-up and fired upon in a narrow gully, he bravely climbed out alone to the enemy's rear position. Critically wounded while pressing forward with his attack, he bravely cleared out the hostile position. Evacuated to a hospital ship, he later succumbed to his wounds. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" on this occasion, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Leonard F. Mason is listed on the "Wall of the Missing" at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.
USS Leonard F. Mason (DD-852), (1946-1976), was named in honor of Private First Class Leonard F. Mason.
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