Julius Hatley's 911 call was a little unusual: the 95-year old World War 2 veteran hadn't been robbed or threatened, in fact everything about his house was in perfect condition - except for his air conditioning. During the night both Hatley's central air and his window unit stopped working. Fort Worth, Texas is no place to go without air conditioning in June, and the heat actually woke Hatley up.
The officers who responded to Hatley's call admitted it was "low priority," and they did other more important calls first.
But even thought they admit they're "not A/C repair people," they couldn't stop themselves from helping Hatley.
Officer Christopher Weir and his partner William Margolis headed straight for the nearest Home Depot to find Hatley a new machine. While they were gone, Hatley stayed cool by sitting on his porch - and even doing a little work in his garden.
"His smile is infectious, and he's a World War 2 vet and he shouldn't have to be with no A/C," Weir told ABC News. "Once in a while, we see people where we can do something that makes them feel better and it makes us feel better too."
But the two officers weren't the only ones happy to help this veteran in his time of need.
Click the next page to see how the community helped Hatley!
The officers couldn't even make it out of the Home Depot before other friendly Fort Worth citizens offered to help them. The cops asked store employees to recommend the best machine, and explained who they were shopping for. Some of the workers offered to chip in to pay for Hatley's machine, and the store's manager refused to let them leave without taking a $150 discount on the A/C unit.
Weir and Margolis set the unit up in Hatley's home themselves, and while his central air was still broken, they knew he would be safe from the 90 degree heat.
But there was one more happy twist to this story.
A local A/C repairman, Matt Ketchum, saw Hatley's story on the local news. Ketchum has a brother in law enforcement and some of his employees are veterans, so it struck a chord with him right away. He repaired the central air, and covered the cost of his time and materials himself.
Other community members are planning to replace Hatley's windows, repaint his house and even cover the cost of his weekly groceries.
It just goes to show how one small act of kindness can grow and grow into something truly amazing!
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[H/T: ABC News]