JOHN W. MASON, 2LT, USAF
John Mason '58
Lucky Bag
From the 1958 Lucky Bag:
Loss
"Jack" was lost on December 14, 1959 "when his F-86 crashed near Moody Air Force base in Valdosta, Ga. Jack is survived by his widow, the former Arline Teschner… a son, John Charles, and his parents." (Information from March 1960 issue of Shipmate.) He was a member of the 3550th Crew Combat Training Wing.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
He was returning from a training mission in an F86 interceptor plane when the plane nosed to earth about 4,000 feet short of the runway.
A requiem mass was said for him on December 19 at the State School in Industry where as a growing boy he helped rehabilitate errant boys. His parents were cottage parents at the state school. Since the age of 9, he was a steadying influence for many of them.
Arline was his high school sweetheart, and they married on June 21, 1954, in the chapel of the Industry School.
John graduated from Rush-Henrietta High School where he ranked fifth in his class of 56. He was president of his class and played basketball, baseball and soccer in high school. He received his Naval Academy diploma from President Eisenhower.
He is buried in New York.
Related Articles
Donald Meyer '58 was also in 4th Company.
Class of 1958
John is one of 28 members of the Class of 1958 on Virtual Memorial Hall.