Mason Brownell Fitch was born in September 1925 in Rochester, New York. He graduated high school in 1943 and took the Army Air Cadet Examination. He worked for a YMCA [Annotator's Note: Young Men's Christian Association] camp that summer while awaiting the results. It was his first experience away from home. He went to school that fall to become an engineer. He attended an institute now known as RIT [Annotator's Note: Rochester Institute of Technology]. On 11 January 1944, he was inducted into the Army Air Corps. His basic training was at Keesler Field [Annotator's Note: now Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi] in Mississippi. He was sent to gunnery school in Harlingen, Texas [Annotator's Note: Harlingen Army Airfield; later Harlingen Air Force Base, in Harlingen, Texas]. Clovis, New Mexico [Annotator's Note: Clovis Army Airfield; now Cannon Air Force Base, in Clovis, New Mexico] was his site for advanced gunnery training. In Fairmont, Nebraska [Annotator's Note: Fairmont Army Airfield in Fairmont, Nebraska], he became a member of an 11 man crew of a B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber]. A radar operator was needed, and Fitch volunteered for the assignment. He had no idea what radar was. Radar meant "radio detection and ranging". High intensity waves are sent out and some are bounced back and picked up by the plane's radar. On flat land, radar was not that good. Soon he came to understand the nuances of the technology and aid with navigation. That was particularly an advantage on night missions. The crew practiced bombing Kansas City [Annotator's Note: Kansas City, Missouri] with radar at night. In December 1944, two of the three squadrons of the 504th [Annotator's Note: 504th Bombardment Group] were ready for combat under the command of Colonel James Connally [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces Colonel James Thomas Connally]. Unknown to the other two squadrons, the third squadron was pulled off and assigned to Colonel Paul Tibbets [Annotator's Note: later US Air Force Brigadier General Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr.; pilot of the Enola Gay that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945] and became the nucleus of the 509th Bomb Squadron [Annotator's Note: 509th Composite Group] which would drop the nuclear bomb. In late December 1944, the 504th flew from Mesa Field [Annotator's Note: Santa Ana Army Air Base near Santa Ana, California], California to Hawaii and then to Kwajalein [Annotator's Note: Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands]. He was told he was going to war when he left Kwajalein. They arrived on Tinian [Annotator's Note: Tinian, Mariana Islands] on the first day of 1945.

Mason Brownell Fitch determined that radar was very important when flying missions into Japan. The terrain was much more obvious on the radar screen. The navigator had a radar scope by his table. Fitch could set it up for a range of up to 125 miles. Initially, there was a black screen but as the plane approached land, it was easy to identify objective points. Bombardiers did not want to use radar, but with night missions it was necessary. Fitch could adjust the range down to as little as five miles to bring into focus landmarks as small as a bridge. The 504th [Annotator's Note: 504th Bombardment Group] deployed mines which became risky business since the Japanese fleet was anchored in the north of the home islands. The enemy fleet was in the Korean peninsula, close to Vladivostok [Annotator's Note: Vladivostok, Soviet Union] to shelter it for the upcoming invasion of Japan. The aircraft [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] normally had a 3,000 miles operating range, but that could be extended to 4,000 miles on the mine runs by loading the second bomb bay with gasoline. The forward bomb bay carried the mines. The Japanese fleet had to clear those mines to sortie. There was a camera mounted to the radar operator's scope. Fitch took a picture at first mine away and last mine away to see where the mines were dropped. Fitch carried two things with him on every flight. One was a jade disc given to him by an individual who was formerly a missionary in China. The missionary told him that a Chinese friend revealed to him that the disc was made 1,900 years ago. It was presented as a special good luck charm. Fitch's crew of 11 survived where the losses were heavy in bombing crews during the war. The second item that Fitch carried was his little blue book. It is a record of every flight he flew. He flew 101 times with the Army Air Corps. The third mission over Japan for the 504th was to bomb Tokyo [Annotator's Note: Tokyo, Japan]. The runways on Tinian [Annotator's Note: Tinian, Marianas Islands] were the largest in the world. Three of the four runways launched B-29s simultaneously. The IP, or initial point, was near Tokyo [Annotator's Note: Tokyo, Japan]. The center section was the lead. Approaching Tokyo from the west, bomb bays began to open. The doors did not open fast enough for the Tokyo flyover. The planes had a much higher ground speed than anticipated. The formation made a 180 degree turn and ran over the target again. Enemy fighters and flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire] made the flight terrible. The fighters included one German Me-109 [Annotator's Note: Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighter aircraft]. At the debriefing, the winds were discussed. In doing research currently, Fitch discovered that the jet streams were discovered over Europe and Japan during the same time period that his mission flew. The 504th may have discovered the jet stream over Japan on that strange flight.

Mason Brownell Fitch and his bomber crew [Annotator's Note: of the 504th Bombardment Group] returned from a mission over Yokohama [Annotator's Note: Yokohama, Japan]. The number two engine had a fire and a runaway propeller. The engineer could not feather the propeller, or turn it to reduce drag. The prop [Annotator's Note: propeller] had a 16 foot diameter. It began to melt, and concern arose that the gasoline in the wing might ignite. The fire lit up the gunner's compartment inside the ship. The discussion was to ditch but survival would be unlikely. A crewman suggested flying to Iwo [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan]. That was Fitch's first trip to the island. The island had been secured for a short time. After a safe landing, there was objection to the plane landing expressed by a Marine lieutenant. The crew had to guard their plane that night with their .45s [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber M1911 semi-automatic pistol]. The Marines did take care of them after all. The next morning, the air crew flew a reworked B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] back to Tinian [Annotator's Note: Tinian, Marianas Islands]. The plane that was left behind was named "Aphrodite". It was ultimately loaned to a replacement crew. It and the crew never returned. Fitch and his crew picked up the "Ace of the Base" and completed their 35 missions. Fitch signs his emails as Mas [Annotator's Note: pronounced "Mace"] from the Ace of the Base. [Annotator's Note: Fitch smiles.]

Mason Brownell Fitch flew over Kobe [Annotator's Note: Kobe, Japan] on his first mission over Japan [Annotator's Note: with the 504th Bombardment Group]. It was the scariest mission because it was the first over the enemy home islands. The very first actually flown was against Truk [Annotator's Note: Truk Atoll or Chuuk Lagoon, Federated States of Micronesia]. It was meant to give the crew confidence. They saw a single engine fighter there, but it went up and disappeared. There was little flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire] but Fitch was petrified. The second actual mission was over Kobe where large numbers of enemy fighters were encountered. Flying at 35,000 feet, the Japanese fighter could make one pass at a bomber and then never catch up again. There were 15 or 20 enemy planes watching the formation of B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] coming at them. As a fighter came into range, it was important to not get target fixation and continue firing into the formation of bombers. In flying runs over Tokyo [Annotator's Note: Tokyo, Japan], it was not necessary during the bomb run to operate the radar, so Fitch had nothing to do. He would go to the right or left blister [Annotator's Note: transparent dome on the fuselage] gunner's position and watch the destruction below. He could also see the flak firing from the ground and feel the resulting concussion near his plane. It was unsettling to him to hear the .50 caliber [Annotator's Note: Browning ANM2 .50 caliber machine gun] shell casings banging around in the top turret containment canister. The aircraft was pressurized so oxygen masks were not required. When at 35,000 feet, if a window blew masks were needed and a vacuum once pulled a gunner out of the window. He was pulled inside, given oxygen, and survived. Each man wore a safety harness. Crew wore flak suits and at one time a chest and seat pad. Fitch's bomber had to land on Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan] four times. He took a picture of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima beyond his plane's wing. Fitch is very proud that it has been published. During the invasion of Iwo Jima, the 504th flew bomb missions to support the landings. The Navy was shelling from offshore but backed off for the bombers to drop their ordnance. Reports were that half the bombs were dropped offshore at the beaches. It sounded like a lousy job by the bombers. The 504th members found out years later from the Marines who had landed that the drop provided shelter in the craters that were created. Fitch then became proud of what they had accomplished. Iwo was a different world. Smoke emitted from the sand. A Seabee [Annotator's Note: members of US naval construction battalions] working on a runway, dug up a body and took a cigarette case from the body. It was not Fitch's world. Iwo was great because it saved his life and that of other air crewmen who had to emergency land. Unlike at other countries, the American flag cannot be flown on Iwo Jima except in sheltered conditions such as church.

Mason Brownell Fitch views the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] as a set up. A close friend of Fitch said that instructions prior to the attack were for carriers and modern battleships to exit the harbor and leave the old World War 1 ships there instead. There were computers that were with MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area] in the Philippines, Churchill [Annotator's Note: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill; Prime Minister, United Kingdom, 1940 to 1945] and in Washington that could decrypt the Japanese code. Admiral Kimmel [Annotator's Note: US Navy Rear Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel] and General Short [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General Walter Short] did not. Kimmel wanted to send his ships out to the north, but his orders were to send them in the opposite direction. The code had been broken and it was known that the Japanese were coming. The Russians in Washington with Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] knew about it. Fitch has the documentation showing this. The Japanese were spotted ahead of the attack. Not only was the United States at war with Japan but Germany declared war on America so, at that point, troops could be sent to Britain. It was no longer just volunteers going to England's aid.

Mason Brownell Fitch flew five missions before Curtis LeMay [Annotator's Note: Curtis Emerson LeMay; US Army Air Forces then US Air Force General; Fifth Chief of Staff of the US Air Force] decided that the bombers would go in at 5,000 feet. The crews thought he was kidding. He was not. Losses grew as a result. Visibility was better but it was serious at that level. Night missions had multiple searchlights hitting the planes. Fitch's pilot knew to wait until the lights hit the planes forward then he closed in for the bomb run. The searchlights were so strong that it was not possible to look out the window. Then the antiaircraft fire would come up. There was only one time when Fitch's plane was picked up at night. The late daylight missions made the planes visible. Fitch was scared. The story of the B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] named "Thumper" was touching to Fitch. The tail gunner, called "Beezy" [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling], asked Fitch to borrow his camera. Beezy said a high ranking officer would be onboard his plane and he wanted a photograph with him to send home to his mother. The officer was the respected squadron commander, Colonel Jim Connally [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces Colonel James Thomas Connally]. That night Fitch received film from home and put fresh film in the camera and took out his Iwo picture [Annotator's Note: picture taken over Iwo Jima, Japan]. On the mission, Thumper was hit and lost as was the squadron commander. An officer had to fly once a month to get a 50 percent increase [Annotator's Note: in monthly pay; known as flight pay]. Fitch thought the officer should have flown with the "Ace of the Base" [Annotator's Note: the name of Fitch's B-29]. Instead, Fitch lost his friend, a camera and a crew. Although Fitch never remembered any smells while flying bomb missions, he does remember being hit with the updraft of the firebombing with the plane racing upward. It shot up 10,000 feet in just seconds with the heat. At the far end, there was a drastic drop. The radical motion of the ship shook him up. One plane even had its overturned toilet make a mess on the aircraft. When Fitch went through altitude training with oxygen masks, an instructor told them that after putting on the mask, he would make the compartment feel like it was at 40,000 feet. The instructor challenged the men to take their mask off and write on a pad of paper as long as they could. Fitch only wrote one line before his writing trailed off. Some of the recent airplane losses [Annotator's Note: at the time of this interview] could have been due to oxygen loss. Fitch knew nothing was going on without his mask. It was scary.

The last mission for Mason Brownell Fitch really sticks out in his mind. Reaching into his little blue book [Annotator's Note: the record he kept for his 101 total flights while in the United States Army Air Forces during the war], he sees that his chaplain guaranteed him a safe and final 35th mission. Fitch's last mission was not a simple one. His plane was to be a CM [Annotator's Note: counter measure] jamming Japanese radar. The crew did not fly the "Ace of the Base" [Annotator's Note: the regular Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber always flown by Fitch and the crew] but a plane crammed with special equipment. When they returned to base as the last bomber to land, the war was over. Everyone was celebrating. They did not get credit for being the last bomber aloft before the end of the war. Fitch never saw a Japanese suicide plane [Annotator's Note: kamikaze], nor did he see any of the P-51s [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft] that were said to escort the bombers. In his 35 missions, Fitch never saw an American fighter. His survival may be due to this [Annotator's Note: he chuckles as he holds aloft a 1,900 year old good luck charm given to him by a missionary who served in China before the warwhich he carried throughout his 35 missions]. As the radar operator, Fitch had the responsibility of being the first aid man for the aft end of the B-29. The copilot had that responsibility for the forward crew. Fitch learned to give blood on the ground for practice. He had a difficult time with that. Prior to the dropping of the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945], a First Sergeant of the 504th [Annotator's Note: 504th Bombardment Group] bet everyone that the war would end shortly. Luckily, Fitch did not bet. Fitch knew of the 509th [Annotator's Note: 509th Composite Group] but he did not know they were formerly the third squadron of his bomb group. Fitch received a recent call from the College of the Ozarks [Annotator's Note: in Point Lookout, Missouri] requesting he participate in a journey overseas to Tinian [Annotator's Note: Tinian, Marshall Islands], Saipan [Annotator's Note: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands], Hiroshima [Annotator's Note: Hiroshima, Japan] and Nagasaki [Annotator's Note: Nagasaki, Japan] with young students. He was to have a young female and male student accompany him. It would give him an opportunity to be the last man of the 504th [Annotator's Note: 504th Bombardment Group] to leave Tinian. A typhoon blew in while they were on Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands]. Unexpectedly, that changed all the plans. Fitch was not able to revisit Tinian. He did see Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He did take pictures while he was in the cockpit with the pilot en route to Japan. It was a great trip, but he did not return to Tinian. Fitch is the last man of his crew on the plane. The last man on Tibbets' [Annotator's Note: US Air Force Brigadier General Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr.; pilot of the Enola Gay that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan 6 August 1945] crew was Dutch Van Kirk [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces Major Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk]. He was the navigator on Tibbets' "Enola Gay" B-29 when it dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. They targeted a bridge and hit it directly, but it went off two seconds after the planned detonation. The tail gunner saw the shock wave coming. No one knew how far the B-29 had to go to evade the explosion. The estimate was ten to 50 miles and Tibbets made 11 miles. Later in life, Tibbets and Fitch got together at an air show to inspect "FiFi" [Annotator's Note: B-29, serial number 44-62070]. Tibbets and Fitch did not know each other during the war. Fitch has also taken his family to see "FiFi".