Gary Sinise and his foundation have created an easy but impactful way to honor military veterans and first responders every day of the year.
Coming from a military family, the Forrest Gump icon and CSI New York star has dedicated a large portion of his adult life contributing his time and passion to helping out military veterans and first responders, as well as caring for the families of the country’s fallen heroes.
As such, the Gary Sinise Foundation since its inception on June 30, 2011, has raised more than $400 million to assist heroes in need and their families. The GSF By the Numbers page breaks down the foundation’s wide array of efforts, from building 92 smart homes adapted to the needs of the nation’s severely wounded heroes to serving over 1 million meals to the defenders of the country here and overseas.
In addition, Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band—aptly named for his legendary character Lt. Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump—have donated their time playing nearly 570 concerts and counting; 310 of which have been performed since 2011 when the GSF started.
Such events—along with several other fundraising initiatives—helps the GSF stage an annual event in December where Sinise and his foundation fly 1,300 families of fallen military personnel and first responders in an all-expenses paid trip to Disney World simply to have fun, relax and heal.
The true benefit of the trip, Sinise told me in a recent Zoom conversation, is for families to meet and get to know each other and to share in their grief and heal together. In short, Sinise wants the members of fallen members of the military and first responders to know that they are not alone.
While the foundation has supported heroes’ families monetarily, it has also created an outlet for military veterans, first responders and their families to honor their loved ones in a profound way on a virtual wall called the Gary Sinise Foundation Honor Roll.
‘Remembering Can’t Be Underestimated,’ Sinese Says
The Gary Sinise Foundation Honor Roll is an important part of the foundation’s website where families can click on a page and easily list the name of the important veteran in their life, along with their branch and their home state.
The Honor Roll also recognizes first responders as users can denote what area of public service they were a part of. The placement of a military veteran or first responder’s name on the Honor Roll can speak volumes about the lasting contributions they’ve made to our lives, Sinise said.
“Remembering cannot be underestimated or undervalued at all and quite often we don’t remember. We don’t remember the cost, we don’t remember what’s going on out there while we’re going about our daily lives,” Sinise told me.
“So, remembering is something that’s critically important and our Honor Roll is something where we can share the experiences of people that we know. We can put them on there because we care about them,” Sinise added. “The Honor Roll gives them this place where they’re all celebrated for what they’ve done for our country.”
Of course, the Honor Roll is only one way Sinise remembers the country’s fallen heroes. Annually, Sinise and his good friend and acting colleague Joe Mantegna play the National Memorial Day Concert outside the White House in Washington, D.C. This year, Sinise and Mantegna hosted the concert on Sunday, May 26.
“It’s one way that we can show our appreciation and gratitude—and always remember. [It’s about] remembering our fallen, remembering our heroes and paying tribute to those who have given their lives in service,” Sinise said. “We can never take that for granted and too often we do. We want to remind people that we shouldn’t. We should always remember that there’s a price paid for the freedom that we have. People pay that price and they have throughout our history.”
This year’s Memorial Day was a difficult one for Sinise in that he and his wife, Moira, and their two daughters, Sophie and Ella, as they continue to mourn the loss of their son and brother, McCanna “Mac” Sinise. Mac Sinise—who was an integral part of the Gary Sinise Foundation—died on January 5 at age 33 after a five-year battle with a rare cancer of the spine.
You can read about the impact Mac Sinise had on Gary Sinise’s family and the foundation in a special tribute page on the GSF website.
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