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France says merci beaucoup to alum who helped liberate country 55 years ago

By Brian Fitzgerald

Mason Hartman was on French soil on December 13, even though he was in Boston. Aboard the French aircraft carrier Jeanne d'Arc, he was one of 80 World War II veterans receiving a special diplôme for their service in liberating France from Nazi control.

Mason and Nancy Hartman at their 50th wedding anniversary celebration at The Castle last May. Nancy is the daughter of Daniel Marsh, who was BU president from 1926 to 1951. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky

Stepping onto the 13,000-ton vessel docked at the Black Falcon Pier in South Boston, Hartman (CAS'49) was instantly back in Europe, remembering his days in the 30th Division of the 119th Infantry, on the front lines in France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany.

This time he was dodging raindrops instead of bullets. But after more than 55 years, the memories were still fresh in his mind. Just 18 years old, he was an infantryman within weeks of being drafted. Then there he was, in the autumn of 1944, at the fall of the German city of Aachen.

"Aachen was the first major city to be taken by our forces," says Hartman. "It was a serious morale blow to the Germans. Aachen had been the royal seat of Charlemagne in the ninth century." Outside the nearby town of Wurseln, his weapons platoon was launching mortar shells while under heavy enemy fire. It was there that he and his comrades earned the Bronze Star.

Then in December came the Battle of the Bulge, the largest land battle the United States had participated in up to then. Adolf Hitler, losing badly on the Russian front, wanted to give the German people a Christmas present by halting the Allies' thrust into Germany, and eventually, retaking Antwerp in an offensive. "Our division was hustled down to the northern flank and was right in the thick of things," says Hartman. "We stopped the Germans in our sector. They kept on moving somewhat west, but they couldn't break through our lines northwest. One time a Panzer division tried to cross the Ambleve River, but our company was able to stop them at the bridge."

Over a million men fought in the battle, including 500,000 U.S. troops. More than 19,000 Americans lost their lives, but 100,000 Germans were killed, wounded, or captured. Hitler's last-ditch attempt to turn the war around failed, and the Germans were left with few forces to defend the Reich.

After Hartman returned home in 1945, he attended Boston University, majoring in physics. "At the time, I thought that I was going to be a theoretical physicist," he says. But he started working for the family business, Vita Needle, of Needham, Mass., a company that manufactures stainless steel needles and tubing. The former chairman of the board of the company is now retired. He married Nancy Marsh, daughter of BU President Daniel Marsh, 50 years ago this past May.

Only recently has Hartman, 76, been able to begin talking about his war experiences, and he is still somewhat reluctant. "Many of us in front-line infantry companies had a lot of moments of trepidation," he says. "It's an emotion that is generalized. I guess you put behind you some of the events of your life that are traumatic."

Robin Mosgrove, Hartman's daughter, says that he started talking about the war just during the past couple of years. "I think the memories were too devastating to him," she says. "But two years ago, my son, who was in eighth grade, was doing a school genealogy project, and my father opened up about the war for the first time."

Mosgrove says that Hartman felt deeply touched aboard the Jeanne d'Arc, as French Consul General Stephane Chmelewsky personally extended his gratitude to 80 veterans--a few of them in wheelchairs. "Some of the top brass from the French fleet were there, as well as representatives from the U.S. Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense," says Hartman. "There were a few speeches, and then they called out each man's name, and we all shook hands with the consul general."

Chmelewsky began touring New England on behalf of the French government in 2000 to award certificates of recognition to American veterans who participated in the defeat of Axis powers. The initiative began in 1994 with the awarding of the Jubilee of Liberty Medal, established by the French government to honor the veterans of the Normandy invasion of June 6, 1944. It was later extended to veterans who fought to restore democracy to France after the D-Day invasion. Those who have not been able to attend the presentation ceremonies have received their certificates by mail.

"It was a very elaborate, meaningful, and sincere ceremony," says Hartman. "The gratitude of the French was wonderful."

25 January 2002
Boston University
Office of University Relations