Private First Class Mason was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. He was in a jeep that overturned in North Korea. He was taken to the 46th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital where he died on 28 May 1953.

Mason was awarded the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Korean War Service Medal.