Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Mo., died Aug. 6 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed. A severe arm injury during fighting in Fallujah in 2004 didn't keep Matthew off the Iraq War battlefield. Nor did it dull the competitive fire of the avid runner and former high school athlete from outside Kansas City. Within five months of losing part of his left arm, absorbing shrapnel and suffering a collapsed lung, Mason competed in a triathlon. He soon returned to his SEAL unit. "He could have gotten out of combat," said family friend Elizabeth Frogge. "He just insisted on going back." Mason, the father of two toddler sons, grew up in Holt, Mo., and played football and baseball at Kearney High School. He graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 1998. His wife, who is expecting their third child—another boy—also attended Northwest Missouri. Mason returned to Missouri in May to compete in a Kansas City triathlon, and took his family to Walt Disney World. He deployed seven times in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. He is a dual recipient of the Bronze Star with Valor Device, the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal; he also received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal with valor Device, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraqi Campaign, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Mason was a 1992 graduate of Kearney High School in Kearney, Mo. He was a 1998 graduate of Northwest Missouri State University. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents. He is survived by his wife of seven years, his two sons and a child expected in the fall; his parents, his brother, his maternal grandparents, and several aunts, uncles and cousins. Published in Kansas City Star on August 13, 2011.
Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Mo., died Aug. 6 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed. A severe arm injury during fighting in Fallujah in 2004 didn't keep Matthew off the Iraq War battlefield. Nor did it dull the competitive fire of the avid runner and former high school athlete from outside Kansas City. Within five months of losing part of his left arm, absorbing shrapnel and suffering a collapsed lung, Mason competed in a triathlon. He soon returned to his SEAL unit. "He could have gotten out of combat," said family friend Elizabeth Frogge. "He just insisted on going back." Mason, the father of two toddler sons, grew up in Holt, Mo., and played football and baseball at Kearney High School. He graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 1998. His wife, who is expecting their third child—another boy—also attended Northwest Missouri. Mason returned to Missouri in May to compete in a Kansas City triathlon, and took his family to Walt Disney World. He deployed seven times in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. He is a dual recipient of the Bronze Star with Valor Device, the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal; he also received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal with valor Device, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraqi Campaign, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Mason was a 1992 graduate of Kearney High School in Kearney, Mo. He was a 1998 graduate of Northwest Missouri State University. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents. He is survived by his wife of seven years, his two sons and a child expected in the fall; his parents, his brother, his maternal grandparents, and several aunts, uncles and cousins. Published in Kansas City Star on August 13, 2011.
