Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service(3)
The years since the convention have been good to me as an actor. Today, in addition to Forrest Gump, I’m best known for roles in Apollo 13, Ransom, Snake Eyes, Truman, George Wallace, and The Green Mile, and for playing the lead roles of Detective Mac Taylor in the hit TV show CSI: NY (2004–2013) and Agent Jack Garrett in Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (2016–2017). I’ve received an Emmy and a Golden Globe, been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and been blessed to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for my portrayal of Lieutenant Dan.
Yet my life’s work has turned into so much more than what I’ve done on the stage and screen. Over the years I’ve grown in my relationships with our troops, veterans, and first responders. I’ve been blessed to visit our service men and -women in the distant and often dangerous places where they live and work. I’ve traveled to visit our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world, and have performed with my band—the Lieutenant Dan Band—in Kuwait, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, Singapore, Diego Garcia, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Puerto Rico, Alaska, and all around the United States in an effort to help boost the morale of our troops and military families.
I’ve seen firsthand our service members’ extraordinary skill and dedication, and my life’s mission and passion today are to shine a light on those who serve and defend, the true heroes who go into harm’s way, volunteering to lay down their lives so we can have the freedom to make something real and good of our own lives.
I’m still an actor—absolutely. But I realize I’ve become more than an actor. While this is not a term I use myself, I have heard people say I’ve become “today’s Bob Hope”—t he legendary Hollywood entertainer who began doing USO shows in 1941 and continued supporting and encouraging troops for the next fifty years. Bob Hope became the figurehead of tribute from an entire grateful nation. Other people—entertainers, reporters, citizens, and even the troops themselves—have compared me to him, I suppose because we both share an ongoing and long-term commitment to supporting and entertaining our defenders at home and abroad. But I never set my sights on “becoming” anyone, or trying to fill Bob Hope’s shoes. He set the bar very high in his fifty years of entertaining and supporting our troops. I’ve simply tried to take action whenever and wherever I can, because I care about the men and women who are serving our country and want to do my bit to back them up.
For this work I’ve been privileged—astonishingly—to be named an honorary chief petty officer by the United States Navy. The Marine Corps has pinned me as an honorary marine. The New York City Fire Department named me an honorary battalion chief. The Association of the US Army presented me with the George Catlett Marshall Medal, awarded for “selfless service to the United States.” I’ve received the Sylvanus Thayer Award at West Point, given to a civilian “whose character, service, and achievements reflect the ideals prized by the US Military Academy.” And in November 2008 I received a call from the White House, inviting me to come to a ceremony to receive the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian honor awarded to citizens for “exemplary deeds performed in service of the nation.”
The flow of praise feels exactly backward to me. As I travel to bases and military hospitals, it’s humbling to see our servicemen and -women grow excited when I show up to shake their hands. I’m the one who’s honored to meet them, to thank them, and I’m touched that they would want to turn their thanks back toward me. I’ve learned the reason they’re excited to meet me or shake my hand is not just because I’m visiting or performing with my band, but mainly because wherever I go I carry a message of a nation’s gratitude. I’m letting them know that the country they love hasn’t forgotten about them.
The experiences of war leave an indelible impact on our servicemen and -women. As our veterans return to civilian life, the physical, emotional, and psychological challenges they face are often difficult. I’ve come to realize that one of our greatest shared responsibilities as American citizens is to support and honor the heroes who defend our nation. We are all beneficiaries of the freedom and security they fight to protect.
In 2011, I established the Gary Sinise Foundation to formally continue the service work I’d begun years earlier. Today, my foundation has become a rallying point for people everywhere who want to serve, support, and honor our troops, veterans, and first responders. Thousands of individuals and dozens of great companies and organizations have come together to help us. One of my foundation’s main initiatives is to build smart homes for severely wounded veterans. We provide these houses and the land they’re built on at no cost to the vets, completely mortgage free. Each house is individually designed and equipped with anything each severely wounded vet needs to make life more manageable. Adaptive smart technology, ADA-accessible restrooms, sometimes, if necessary, wheelchair ramps or elevators, whatever can help to restore functionality and independence to the veteran and his or her family. And the foundation does other things to help too.
The Lt. Dan Band is an important program of the foundation. We perform at bases in the United States and all over the world to support and encourage our troops. We’ve played hundreds of shows over the years. I don’t make any money from these concerts or from my participation in any of the foundation’s activities. And at my age, I certainly don’t need to be out on the road performing cover tunes over and over again. But I believe I’ve been given a mission—a mission of service. What I love about playing music and doing live concerts is that they do some good: they bring a little joy, boost spirits, raise funds, and give me a platform to help spread a message of support and appreciation as I speak directly to the men and women who, past and present, serve our country. Seeing the smiles on the faces of the troops and their families is all I need to keep going.