night of 16 October 2010, he stepped on an improvised explosive device.
The explosion from the makeshift bomb took his right leg, most of his left leg,
and his left forearm. After months of physical therapy and struggling to adjust
to his limited mobility, Sergeant Masson admits he never dreamed that in less
than a year he would find himself able to walk or in the Cayman Islands.
“I was watching guys with less injuries than me, who got wounded after me,
start walking. And all I’m thinking is, ‘I’m not up walking yet’,” he said. “It
was hard because I wanted to get up and walk, but my day finally came and I
walked. I walked this morning.”
Mr. Masson did not wear his legs when he came to the North Side Civic Centre on
21 June to speak to an audience of students, teachers and special guests, but
he said that in less than a year he plans to be on them full time.
“I think next year at this time if I’m back here in the Caymans I’ll be giving
you a little demonstration of a walk, with only one cane hopefully too,”
Sergeant Masson said.
Cayman Visit
Mr. Masson and his family were invited to Grand Cayman by Rudy Munis and his
mother Janice Sanders.
“We learned about John through a friend of ours who served with him overseas
and started looking into his story,” Mr. Munis said. “We really wanted to meet
him and do something nice for the family after all he did for our country.”
Mr. Masson, his wife Dustina and their three children arrived in Grand Cayman
on 19 June and have already been snorkelling, diving, jet-skiing and sailing.
“I love your country so far. It has the most beautiful water I have ever seen,”
said Sergeant Masson.
Special Assembly
The theme of the special assembly was ‘We Can All be Heroes’ and featured
speakers such as Royal Cayman Islands Police Service Chief Inspector Martin
Bodden, Cayman Islands Veteran Association President Dale Banks and Independent
member for North Side Ezzard Miller.
Mr. Banks recounted stories heard from veterans of Vietnam and World War II
explaining that most heroes did not think of themselves as special and that few
people know about the sacrifices made by Caymanians serving in the armed forces
because of their humility.
“I asked one of them, ‘have you written down any of this?’, and he said, ‘no I
don’t want people to think I am bragging’,” Mr. Banks said. “So we are losing
our own history because of our modesty.”
Positive Message
The message that each veteran who spoke, and especially Sergeant Masson
himself, had to offer the audience was to persevere in the face of hardship.
“So many people look at me and they just see my wounds and they see what I deal
with and they look at me as if I’m not blessed, but I am… blessed to be alive
right now and everything else, being left-handed before and now not having a
left hand and having no right leg whatsoever and only half of my left leg, I
look at that as just a minor setback in my life,” Mr. Masson said. “Life may be
tough right now, you may feel like you are getting the short end of the stick
and you may possibly be getting it. But you have to keep your head up, stay
positive and never quit.”
The students seemed to be profoundly impacted by Mr. Masson’s speech and by the
visible sacrifice he made.
“It’s very fun to meet this guy because, even though he fought in a war and
lost half his arm and his legs, I wish that one day I could be like him because
I want to be very brave,” said North Side Primary student John Panton.
Another student, Emily Whittaker, said: “The most interesting thing I heard is
he said never give up and be grateful for all you have.”
Mr. Masson said he was always impressed when other countries were able to
appreciate the sacrifices made by members of the American armed forces.
“They realize that what we are doing, the US and other countries, it’s not just
for the ones that are involved deeply in the war it’s for the whole world,” he
said.
Ms. Sanders said she believed his sacrifice was one that transcended national
boundaries.
“I think it transcends very beautifully and easily because Caymanians love a
person with a good work ethic… and they respect their country and they love
this island,” she said. “I think that everybody here appreciates a person who
gives his all because I do not know any lazy Caymanians.”
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