WASHINGTON - Australia's prime minister visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday and offered "a precious possession" - the tale of a fire helmet that proves the enduring legacy of 9/11's heroes.
It was a helmet signed by FDNY Lt. Kevin Dowdell in 1998 and given to Australians on a counterterror training trip in New York.
Three years later, terrorists killed Dowdell, of Rescue 4 in Queens.
The helmet came home last summer, after a Queensland firefighter, Robert Frey, found it on display. He realized what it would mean to Dowdell's 26-year-old son, James, now of Ladder 174 in East Flatbush.
"Rob came to America to give James the helmet his father signed - a precious possession, a last link to a father lost," Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.
"And I give you their story - a precious possession, too," she said, turning to the gallery where both men sat Wednesday.
"Rob, James. Good on you," she said, winning a massive ovation from Congress.
Dowdell was overwhelmed. "I'm thinking, it's an honor, but what's a fireman like me doing sitting here?" he told the Daily News.
But that wasn't even the best part of his day. Dowdell's brother, Army Capt. Patrick Dowdell, of the first West Point class after 9/11, returned from Afghanistan on Wednesday.
James rushed from Congress to catch a plane to Fort Collins, Colo.
"To be doing that and then leave to get on a flight to see my brother - it's just a good day all around," Dowdell said.
Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens/Bronx) spoke at Kevin Dowdell's funeral. For him, the tale of the helmet showed how much 9/11 mattered to the world.
"That helmet obviously was held as close as you can get to a religious article," he said.
Best of all for James will be having his brother home a decade after the terror attacks. "We're looking especially to the 10-year anniversary," Dowdell said. "We haven't been together on 9/11 in years, and we'll have him around the whole summer.
"It's gonna be good."
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