Award-winning actor Gary Sinise, who played Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, was recently surprised by a video created to thank him for his 40 years of veteran advocacy. That’s right; 40 years! The video was comprised of thank you’s from people that Gary knows well like Jay Leno and Ron Howard but also from others he didn’t know personally, like veterans, who truly appreciate his advocacy work.
In disbelief of the video, Gary said, “I was just stunned as it unravelled and more and more people kept popping on. Many I’ve met, some I’ve never met, some of the first responders and then folks that my foundation has supported in various ways around the country. So I was surprised they knew that I was involved so much in veterans support. It was really surprising and humbling and overwhelming and emotional and very, very touching to see that.”
Gary uses his celebrity status and connections to bring light to the lives of many veterans. Gary raises $30 million annually for our veterans because he understands that our veterans need our support. Gary has many veterans in his family and in his wife’s family so veteran issues hit close to home. He knows many of our veterans struggle everyday and those issues are not going away anytime soon.
In his personal time, Gary Sinise has written a new book, “Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service.” His new book was released on February 12, 2019 and it details how he started his journey as a veteran advocate and how his support for our veterans has evolved over time. If you would like to learn more about Gary’s veteran advocacy work or the Gary Sinise foundation, please visit: https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/mission/
