Service K9 awarded to inspirational young veteran

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Wednesday, September 20, 2017
VIDEO: Service K9 awarded to veteran
Watch the report from Action News at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 20, 2017.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (WPVI) -- His personal motto is "no one fights alone," and now, a young veteran from South Jersey won't have to.

Specialist John Durrenberger was honorably discharged from the Army in September 2016.

Two years prior to that, the then-Airborne Infantryman was injured when his parachute collapsed, resulting in a 100 foot freefall.

On Wednesday, in recognition of his service and his ongoing dedication to the military, the group Rebuilding Warriors presented John with a service dog named Kilmer.

And still, John made his day about others.

"If you're struggling, you can come find me. I'll give you my cell phone number, and you can call me any time," he said. "But preferably not after eight o'clock. That's when I put my son down to sleep."

Specialist Durrenberger is now going to college fulltime for Psychology. His goal is to open his own business for Veterans with PTSD.

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