Mason Fitch2024 Honorary Marshal

Mason Fitch grew up in Rochester, and at the young age of 18, entered the US Army Air Corps during WWII in January of 1944. As a Staff Sargeant, he trained first as an aerial gunner and later as a radar operator, serving in the 504th bomb group. He became a member of an eleven-man B-29 combat crew, that was based on the Island of Tinian, about 100 miles north of Guam. The US military base on Tinian was at this time the largest airbase in the world. Mason flew 35 missions over Japan, four of which were interrupted by hits by Japanese flak and fighter attacks that required landing on Iwo Jima. Some flights required flying 19 hours when they dropped mines in north Korean waters to prevent the Japanese fleet, which had been stationed there, from entering battle. In 1991, Mason returned to the island of Tinian with 14 other remaining members of the 504th bomb group to place a monument of remembrance on runway #1 right next to what is now, a small park, that held the two atomic bombs. After the war, Mason attended Syracuse University and spent 37 years as a senior design engineer at General Motors. Mason and his wife Ginn have two daughters, five grandchildren and nine, soon to be 10 great grandchildren. This June, Mason and Ginn will be celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary. We are honored to recognize Mason Fitch, a member of the Greatest Generation, as the Honorary Marshal for the 2024 Tops St. Patrick’s Day Parade.