At Acculturated we like to highlight the good work celebrities do rather
than dwell on the usual scandals and misbehavior, and there is arguably no
celebrity who currently devotes himself more to good works off-camera than
actor Gary Sinise.
Gary is familiar to most fans as the disabled vet Lt. Dan Taylor from Forrest Gump and more recently as Detective
Mac Taylor from the crime drama CSI: New York, which ran from 2004
to 2013. In addition to Gump, his
movie career includes Of Mice and Men
(which he also directed), Apollo 13, The Green Mile, and Truman, not to mention tons of television and
voiceover work.
But (if you’ll pardon the corny segue) Gary’s most important role has
been in service to America’s military. He has done, and continues to do, more for
our servicemen and -women than any celeb since Bob Hope. “Freedom and security
are precious gifts that we, as Americans, should never take for granted,” Gary
writes on his foundation’s website. “We must do all we can to extend our hand
in times of need to those who willingly sacrifice each day to provide that
freedom and security. While we can never do enough to show gratitude to
our nation's defenders, we can always do a little more.”
Gary has done a lot more. Since
2011, the Gary Sinise Foundation, “committed to ensuring the sacrifices of our
brave men and women are never forgotten,” has launched the construction of custom-built,
automated “smart homes” for America’s severely wounded heroes. The homes help
accommodate the physical challenges faced by those vets and give them some
degree of independence. As an emotional example of just what an impact that has
had on our wounded warriors, check out this video interview in which a quadriplegic vet tearfully
expresses his gratitude to Gary for helping get him and his family into one of
the smart homes.
The Foundation’s Relief
& Resiliency Outreach program “provides complete support to
military and first-responder families recovering from trauma and loss during
times of urgent need.” The Foundation hosts its own Invincible Spirit
Festivals, day-long celebrations designed to boost the morale and spirits of
the patients, their families and the medical staff at military hospitals across
the country. Among the Foundation’s other initiatives is its
Serving Heroes program, through
which it provides hearty meals to our defenders across the nation.
The average fan isn’t aware that Gary is also a rocking bass player for
his own cover band, the Lt. Dan Band (tagline: Honor. Gratitude. Rock &
Roll.), which has performed hundreds of shows to service members and their
families all around the world for over a dozen years. I’ve seen them live, and
they’re not merely hired hacks backing a self-indulgent celebrity. They’re all
talented musicians who put on a fun, high-powered show.
He volunteers for the National Veterans Art Museum. He is on the
Advisory Council of Hope for the Warriors, a national non-profit dedicated
to providing non-medical care to combat-wounded service members and their
families, as well as to the families of fallen warriors. He is the
National Spokesperson for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. Though
he never served in the military himself, Gary was made an honorary U.S.
Navy Chief Petty Officer for his efforts in helping veterans and was
named an honorary Marine.
In 2004, Gary and Unbroken
author Laura Hillenbrand co-founded Operation International Children, which
began as a program to enable Americans to send school supplies to Iraqi kids,
but which has since expanded its reach to children around the world, including the United
States (after hurricane Katrina).
Amid all this service (and those examples are just the standouts), the
Oscar-nominated actor’s career still flourishes. After nine seasons as the lead
in CSI: New York, it was announced last month that Gary will star in a Criminal
Minds spinoff for CBS. He is in talks to be cast in next year’s superhero flick Suicide Squad.
I am honored to know Gary personally, and I can tell you that he is a down-to-earth,
kind, church-going family man (married to Moira for over thirty years, with
three children) whose quiet humility is extremely refreshing in Hollywood.
Acculturated hands out a Celebrities Behaving Well Award each year to a deserving star. If we were
ever to bestow a Celebrities Behaving Well Lifetime Achievement Award, Gary
Sinise would be the clear frontrunner.
(This article originally appeared here on Acculturated, 2/10/15)
