John T. Mason Jr (1909-1998) was a trained historian with an advanced degree from George Washington University. He was also an Episcopal priest and graduate of General Theological Seminary. From 1940 to the end of World War II, he served with the Office of National Intelligence in Washington, D.C. From 1960 to 1969, he was associated with the oral history research office of Columbia University under the guidance of the noted American historian Allan Nevins. In 1969, Mason established an oral history program at the U.S. Naval Institute, and it soon led to one of the most extensive collections of naval oral history transcripts in the country. In 1982, he retired as director of the Naval Institute Oral History Program, which continues to carry on his legacy today.

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