Fans of the Die Hard movie franchise took part in their annual Christmas tradition of paying tribute to Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Al Powell, an off-duty officer who helped stop a hostage situation at Nakatomi Plaza.
In the plot for the first Die Hard film, the fictional LAPD officer is radioed in to investigate an emergency call from John McClane, whose wife’s Christmas party was hijacked by terrorists at the plaza. Powell, portrayed by Reginald VelJohnson, and McClane, a New York Police Department detective lieutenant played by Bruce Willis, develop a friendship over the citizens band radio as the latter fights the terrorists inside the tower. At the end of the film, they finally meet in person and embrace.
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In the film, released in 1988, VelJohnson’s deuteragonist provides moral support to Willis’s vent-crawling hero.
34 years ago today, Sgt. Al Powell helped stop a terrorist attack at Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. May his bravery never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/ppz9cxsvWQ
— Tim Wronka (@TimWronka) December 24, 2022
“34 years ago today, Sgt. Al Powell helped stop a terrorist attack at Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. May his bravery never be forgotten,” Tampa Bay traffic anchor Tim Wronka tweeted on Christmas Eve. The tweet was liked over 68,300 times and seen by 3.7 million Twitter users as of early Christmas evening. Wronka’s tweet was one of scores of satirical holiday messages from Die Hard fans sharing their love for the film.
“Taking a moment to give thanks to the heroic efforts of John McClane and Sgt. Al Powell; remembering those that perished in the siege of Nakatomi Plaza. 34 years. Never forget,” wrote another on social media.
Another Twitter user posted, “Today, like every Christmas Eve, we salute Sgt. Powell’s bravery.”
Taking a moment to give thanks to the heroic efforts of John McClane and Sgt. Al Powell; remembering those that perished in the siege of Nakatomi Plaza. 34 years. Never forget ? pic.twitter.com/Db8psyFcfo
— Andy Howarth (@AJ_Howarth) December 24, 2022
Snopes conducted a fact check for the claim “Sgt. Al Powell stopped a terrorist attack at Nakatomi Plaza on Christmas in 1988.” The fact-checking outlet concluded that the claim was false and clarified that Die Hard was not “a documentary.”
The outlet also noted that the frequent meme photo used to pay tribute to Powell each year is actually a picture of VelJohnson as Carl Winslow in the popular television series Family Matters, in which VelJohnson also played a police officer. (VelJohnson was known for playing police officers in movies and television shows throughout the 1980s).
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During a recent interview, the actor was asked to weigh in on the debate over Die Hard being considered a Christmas movie.
“When I was filming the film Die Hard, I didn’t even think about it being a Christmas movie. I knew that there was a Christmas theme that was going on in the movie, but it wasn’t a major focus of the movie. And I never really realized that it was going to be a Christmas movie until the audience told me that it was,” VelJohnson said. “And when the audience said that it was a Christmas movie. I said, ‘Yes and hell yes, it’s a Christmas movie,’ whatever you want to do.”
