Nov 12 2004 Westminster Mass

Westminster MA - postal worker with scanner saves man

trapped under machinery

Postal worker becomes a true hero

By dschneider@sentinelandenterprise.com

By Dorothy Schneider

Friday, November 12, 2004 -

WESTMINSTER -- Harold Doss never thought of himself as

a hero.

But the Westminster resident fell easily into the role

last week when he arrived first at the scene of a

horrible accident along his mail route in Lunenburg.

Michael Murray, 38, of 21 Maple Parkway, was fixing

the axles on an air compressor Friday morning when the

piece of industrial equipment collapsed on top of him.

Doss heard about the accident on the police scanner he

keeps in his mail truck.

He realized the house was just ahead on his route, and

made a split-second decision to go help.

"I saw this white flash over my head, if you can

believe this, and it said, 'Go and help the guy,'"

Doss said. "It was like God was talking to me."

When Doss got to the scene of the accident, he saw

Murray trapped under the compressor.

"He was in bad shape," he said, noting that Murray had

turned blue and purple from the crushing weight on top

of him. "I sized up the situation and figured out what

I had to do."

Doss got a hydraulic jack from the garage and began

setting it up underneath the compressor. At that

point, Lunenburg Police Officer Ernest E. Gould

arrived at the scene, and the two men lifted the

machine and pulled Murray out.

Murray's breathing was shallow and Doss said they

could feel a faint pulse.

"We didn't think he was alive, but he was," Doss said.

He and Gould were just beginning mouth-to-mouth

resuscitation when rescue workers arrived and took

over.

Murray was taken to UMass Memorial Hospital in

Worcester.

Doss credits his experience in the Korean War for

training him to respond quickly in emergency

situations. He served near the border of North Korea

and South Korea for more than two years in the late

1960s.

"That all came back within 30 seconds," Doss said.

Even though Doss wasn't sure there was hope for

Murray, he knew he had to do something to try and

help.

"You don't think about it," he said. "Your instinct

just takes over."

"Regardless of whether we'd done it right or wrong, we

did the best we could," he said.

Doss grew emotional Wednesday afternoon talking about

Murray and the accident. The 23-year post office

veteran said he feels close to every person on his

mail route.

"I know their homes and I know the people and I love

them with all my heart," he said.

Doctors believe Murray will make a full recovery, Doss

said, but the road will be long.

"He was a strong kid," Doss said. "Strong and healthy,

and that's what saved him."

Doss and several Lunenburg police officers were

honored this morning for their heroic actions in a

ceremony at the Lunenburg Post Office.