A courageous teen managed to put his emotions to one side and bring a group of Boy Scouts to safety last weekend, after their chaperone – who was his father – died on a hike.
According to the Boston Globe, James Norton was leading a Boy Scout group through the Appalachian Mountains on Sunday when he suffered a heart attack.
Mr Norton was hiking slightly ahead of his 16-year-old son, David, when he suffered a heart attack, fell and hit his head. David discovered the news via an alert that went out over a radio.
Believing his father to be dead, David mustered all of his courage and led the group of children he was chaperoning to safety.
“I know he would’ve wanted me to lead the rest of the Scouts in the medium group down and make sure they got there OK. It was really icy and probably dangerous,” David told the newspaper.
He added: “He lived for the Scout oath and law.”
Once David had led the group back to safety, he telephoned his family and confirmed the tragic news of his father’s death.
Tributes have since been paid to James, who is said to have loved the outdoors and was involved in the Boy Scouts for over a decade.
