MANSFIELD — Robert Mason delivered an impassioned message to fellow military veterans and their families on Wednesday: Break the silence and tell your story.
Mason, the American Legion Dept. of Ohio historian and a U.S. Air Force veteran, spoke from the gazebo in Central Park after the annual Veterans Day parade, presented by the Richland County Joint Veterans Council.
Mason, who served in the Air Force from 1979 to 1983, warned that when veterans take their experiences to the grave, their families are often left in the dark and deprived of rightful benefits and honors.
“Tell your story and (be advised) what happens when you don’t tell your story,” said Mason, a longtime Carey resident who continues to serve veteran organizations across north central Ohio through administrative leadership and historical preservation.
(Photos and videos from the Veterans Day Parade on Wednesday. The parade began at the five-way light and proceeded to Central Park downtown. It included the Mansfield Senior High School Marching Band and the Clear Fork High School Marching Band. The story continues below.)
Mason is a member and past commander of American Legion Earl Green Post 344 in Carey.
Introduced by Ken Estep, executive director of the Richland County Veteran Service Commission, Mason opened by asking spouses of veterans and active-duty members to raise their hands, leading a round of applause to recognize the sacrifices made on the home front.
Mason shared his own unlikely path into uniform, recalling how he was born blind and underwent eye surgery at 14 months old
Though relatives warned his poor vision would keep him out of the military, he persisted. Facing skepticism at an induction center in Columbus, Mason quipped to a processing officer, “Sir, I can smell a commie; I don’t have to see one,” earning a stamp of approval.
Mason enlisted in 1979 and served as an administrative specialist and squadron photographer at the England Air Force Base in Louisiana during the early 1980s, serving in the 1908th Communications Squadron.
He reflected on working long shifts inside windowless, secure concrete rooms during operational exercises, emphasizing every military branch and role serves a vital purpose.
That lesson, he noted, hit home years later when his son joined the U.S. Army as a cavalry scout and deployed to Bosnia.
After three Russian MiG jets triggered an alert that sent his son into a bunker protecting a colonel, the young man called home with newfound respect for the unseen, enclosed duty his father had performed decades earlier.
The heart of Mason’s address centered on the tragedy of withheld stories, illustrated by his late brother-in-law, Lee, a drafted Vietnam War frontline machine gunner who rarely spoke about his combat service and harbored deep bitterness toward the military.
He said his brother-in-law avoided dealing with his military past for 35 years, leaving his discharge paperwork — the critical DD Form 214 — unclaimed at the Hancock County Courthouse.
After his brother-in-law developed cancer linked to Agent Orange exposure, Mason repeatedly urged him to file a Department of Veterans Affairs claim, but Lee resisted until mere months before his death, passing away before benefits could be processed.
Following the death, Mason set out to ensure his brother-in-law received a military marker for his grave. While tracking down his brother-in-law’s service records, Mason uncovered a decoration the family never knew existed.
“Did you know that your dad was awarded the Bronze Star in Vietnam?” Mason recalled asking his niece.
She had no idea.
“Lee’s gone,” Mason said. “Not a single person in our family knows why — most of them don’t even know that he was awarded the Bronze Star. People, you’ve got to tell your story.”
Mason urged veterans to make sure their families know where their military discharge documents are stored, noting he keeps his own DD-214 registered in two counties and shared with his children.
Joined at the podium by his wife, Teresa, Mason closed by acknowledging the cold reception many service members endured after returning from Vietnam and extended a heartfelt welcome home to all Vietnam veterans in attendance.
“You are our heroes,” Mason said. “Welcome home.”
(Below are photos and video from the annual Veterans Day Ceremony at the gazebo in Mansfield’s Central Park on Wednesday, presented by the Richland County Joint Veterans Council.)
