Batman is cool and all, but when it comes to a superhero we prefer to higlight the real deal.
And this spring, Batman calls Goshen home. He’s 10. His name is Mason Neveu. And, yes, he loves Batman. That much was evident last month when he pulled off an heroic search-and-rescue mission in the Ashfield woods not far from his home – while wearing Batman pajamas.
The story goes like this. Shortly after word spread March 23 that Colton Roberts, the 4-year-old son of Goshen firefighters Chris and Erica Roberts, had gone missing while playing with his puppy Ranger at the family’s new home in Ashfield, the tightknit firefighting community in Goshen galvanized to help one of their own.
Though lost in Ashfield, both Colton’s and Mason’s families are members of and have special connections to the Goshen Fire Department. So when Chris Roberts called Fire Chief Sue Labrie in the late afternoon on that fateful day to report missing the precocious boy who has mingled with firefighters at the station since he was a baby, it set off a chain reaction.
Department members didn’t need an official invitation from the Ashfield fire and police departments or the State Police. They were joining the hunt.
Labrie called her husband, Fire Capt. Bob Labrie, and notified Mason’s parents, Monica Neveu, a Goshen fire captain, and Marianne Neveu, a Goshen firefighter.
When Marianne relayed the news to the couple’s three sons, there was no hesitation. They were going to help.
While professionally trained adults combed the woods with search-and-rescue gear in search of Colton, Mason’s equipment were his ears, a strong desire to help and, of course, the Batman pajamas he wore during the search.
By 6 p.m., a half-mile into the woods and with dusk approaching, Neveu floated the idea of turning around for more equipment. Mason, however, put the kabosh on that. “Mom, this is really serious, he could die out here,” Neveu recalled in a recent Gazette story.
Within minutes, Mason heard what sounded like crying and alerted his mother to the sound. And then he did something out of the ordinary. Courageous, in fact. Convinced he heard crying, he took off over a ridge without Neveu. And there was Colton, with Ranger by his side. “It was just amazing,” Neveu said. “I had been ready to turn back, and it was Mason who stopped me.”
Now here’s the amazing thing. At 10, Mason has faced challenges many adults haven’t. He was born blind in one eye, deaf in one ear and with a cleft lip and cleft palate that has required over 18 reconstructive surgeries.
He’s also done something that many life-long firefighters haven’t – rescued someone.
For his heroics, Mason was feted this week with a “Young Heroes” medal and a commendation by a host of officials ranging from the state Department of Fire Services Public Safety Unit, the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Goshen Fire Department. The ceremony at the Goshen Fire Department also included 80 others, including Colton himself. He also now has an official Goshen Fire Department T-shirt personalized just for him, and is well on his way to following in the footsteps of the adult firefighting heroes in his life. “I know it sounds corny, but we really are like family,” Bob Labrie said.
Hilltown fire crews face many challenges. They deserve some big wins —and this was one.