WEBVTT

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[ Music ]

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>> My name is Wendell Hart.

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Most people call me Dell.

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I work in Indianapolis as an
explosive detection K9 handler.

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My canine's name is Howard.

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He's named after a 9/11
victim, George Howard.

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>> 45-year-old George
Howard was the father of two

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and a Port Authority police officer.

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He was also a volunteer firefighter,
one of the first firefighters to arrive

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at the World Trade Center
the day of the attacks.

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>> In 1993, when the terrorists
first bombed the World Trade Center,

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he was actually on his day off, came
running in, and ended up getting a medal

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for helping get some school students
and a teacher out of an elevator shaft.

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Fast forward to 2001, he was on
his day off, and heard on the radio

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that a plane hit one of the towers.

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He immediately geared up and raced
right to the scene and he got there,

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pulled up just as the first
building started collapsing.

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That was the last anybody
saw or heard of him.

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When I found out Howard was named
after a 9/11 hero, I was very excited.

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I think it's very cool that you
can carry on the legacy of a hero

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and I don't know doing
a hero's work really.

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>> Some will carry memories of
a face and a voice gone forever.

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And I will carry this, it is the police
shield of a man named George Howard

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who died at the World Trade
Center trying to save others.

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It was given to me by his mom, Arlene,
as a proud memorial to her son.

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It is my reminder of lives that
ended and a task that does not end.

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>> Dell is very dedicated
to the TSA mission.

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He's always been up front
and leading a good example.

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>> I'm flying out to New York
City to meet with Chris Howard,

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which is George Howard's son,
who's a New York City firefighter.

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>> He's going to be able to meet with the
family and let them know we're carrying

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on Mr. Howard's legacy
here in Indianapolis.

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[ Music ]

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>> Dell wrote a letter to my grandmother
after he got the dog and just telling her

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about the dog and asking her more
information about my dad, stuff like that.

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I'd like to meet him and get to know him,

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so I can pass on more
stuff for him to pass on.

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My dad was a Washington DC fireman early
in his life for three or four years.

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He moved down there and became a fireman.

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But he always loved New York so
he came up here, became a cop.

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Through the years, I met all his friends
who were a New York City fireman.

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They always loved their job,
they always talked about it.

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He always told me how
great of a job it was.

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Showed up, I took the test,
and I've never looked back.

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[ Music ]

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>> Look, Howard.

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>> Hey, buddy.

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>> Hey, nice to meet you.

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>> We've been looking forward to this for
years, ever since I got Howard and got

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in touch with Chris and finally obviously
got a chance to do it eight years later.

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But yeah, we're really excited.

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>> My joke was he looks exactly
like my dad, so [laughter].

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[ Music ]

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So, that's my dad's gun
holster he had on his hip.

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It's a tactical holster.

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And that was the wallet
that was in his pocket.

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>> Wow.

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>> I want him to be remembered
for his dedication to duty,

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that he showed up when he didn't have to.

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>> We lost like 14 emergency service
cops that day and those guys were Gods

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and they full well knew that
they probably would never come

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out of those buildings
and nobody hesitated.

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[ Music ]

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>> We got this dog here and he's an
awesome dog, and we had a lot of fun

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at the firehouse yesterday so --

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>> We had a blast.

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>> My dad was a big animal lover, so the
fact that there's a dog named after him,

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I think makes my dad, you know,
pretty happy, wherever he is.

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>> Having Howard named after his dad plays
a huge role, keeping the name out there,

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keeping this fresh on people's minds.

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>> Don't forget what happened.

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You know, you can never
forget what happened.

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>> They're waiting for us to be weak for
a minute and we can't afford to do that.

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My name is Dell Hart.

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I'm an explosive detection K9 handler
at Indianapolis International Airport.

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[ Music ]