Father, Son From Prince William Win $1.6M On Game Show

TRIANGLE, VA — A school security officer from Prince William County who was an off-duty police officer on 9/11 that evacuated people from the Pentagon won about $1.6 million Monday on NBC's game show "The Wall."

Steven Hardeman, 56, and his son Seth, 20, both of Triangle, taped the episode in June 2024, but news of their big win was only made public when the new season of the show aired Monday, the Inside NoVa reported.

"I was ecstatic," Steven Hardeman told Inside NoVa. "I think if I could have jumped 1,000 feet in the air I would’ve jumped 1,000 feet in the air. When they talk about being on cloud nine I’m still on cloud nine. To me, it is still unbelievable. It seems surreal."

The game chooses “hometown heroes” for contestants. Steven was chosen because of his help with the evacuating the Pentagon after it was struck by the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77, killing all 64 people on the plane and 125 people in the Pentagon.

After 15 year as a police officer, Hardeman retired due to an injury and chose to work security at Triangle Elementary because his three sons went there, the Prince William Times reported.

Seth Hardeman is a senior at George Mason University majoring in history. He also works as a substitute teacher at Triangle Elementary and told the Times he hopes to become a teacher after graduating.