Texas Cops Buy New A/C Unit for 95-Year-Old WWII Vet

Two police officers from Fort Worth, Texas, chipped in to buy a new air conditioning unit for an elderly World War II veteran. The officers made the purchases after responding to a call for help from the former warrior.

When 95-year-old Julius Hatley woke up Thursday morning, he found himself drenched in sweat. His air conditioner had failed and the temperature inside his home had already climbed to 85 degrees in the Texas heat. Not knowing what to do, and fearing for his health, he called 911 and two Fort Worth police officers, William Margolis and Christopher Wei, were dispatched to help him, Fox 4 reported.

When the officers arrived at Hatley’s home, they decided to replace the broken air conditioner with a new unit.

“I talked to my partner and I talked to the gentleman and said, ‘Look, we’re going to help you out. I’ll be back in just a little bit. I promise you.’” Officer Margolis told the local Fox affiliate.

Reassuring the man they would return, the two officers went to a nearby Home Depot store and picked out a new unit for Hatley.

Happy with their work, Weir snapped a photo of his partner in the checkout line with the new air conditioner. When the manager of the Home Depot found out what the officers were doing, he and other helped out by contributing $150 out of their own pockets, CBS News reported.

They returned to Hatley’s home and installed the new unit. “He was actually really excited,” Margolis told CBS. “He said he knew if he needed help to call 911 and we actually were able to help him, so he was really excited about it.”

The officers are not finished with Mr. Hatley. Since the story of their help initially came out, the officers have received other offers for additional assistance. “We have all worked on getting his central air replaced and a company came forward to do so, completely for free.” Officer Weir’s wife Jennifer told CBS News. “We are also currently working on getting his windows replaced, his house repainted and groceries every week.”

Officer Margolis said they will be checking in on the WWII veteran from time to time.

“He’s 95 years old and he’s a World War II veteran,” Margolis told reporters. “He’s a hero. In our eyes he’s our hero.”

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.