Actor Gary Sinise has long been known for supporting veterans — American men and women who have risked everything to defend their nation.
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Sinise told CBN News his passion for helping men and women who have served is rooted in his family’s long history of military experience. He said this exposure is “where the early seeds were planted” for the Gary Sinise Foundation, a nonprofit that helps with meals, housing, and other emotional and physical needs.
Over the years, the “Forrest Gump” actor — who played Lt. Dan, a Vietnam War platoon leader who had his legs amputated — said he was spurred on by seeing the many circumstances faced by veterans and their families as well as the positive impact that comes from simply showing up to encourage them.
“As I’ve traveled over the years and gone to the hospitals … I started doing that many, many years ago — going to the war zones, all that stuff through the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War,” he said. “Seeing broken families dealing with injuries and amputations and burns, and then Gold Star families losing their loved ones and watching them persevere through it.”
Sinise continued, “And then, really seeing what simply showing up to pat somebody on the back and let them know that you appreciate them, and you care about them, and you feel for what they’re going through, seeing what that … can do, just motivated me to keep doing it.”
Ultimately, the entertainer said he found a way to “serve and give back” to service members who have fought for the freedoms he and many other Americans enjoy.
Sinise said he values those who pay the ultimate price to defend their country and fellow citizens.
“I’ve benefited from that freedom,” Sinise said. “I’ve had a great career. … And it’s all because I’m free to do that. I’m free. And freedom comes at a cost, and people pay for it, and it’s the people that raise their hand and put the uniform on and go overseas and do the difficult, dangerous work.”
Sinise has played hundreds of concerts for the troops and has never made money for these performances, giving his time and talents to fuel his mission of giving back. In the process, he’s raised money for nonprofit organizations, “getting in the fight” for America’s men and women in uniform.
Despite giving so much back to others, Sinise said these efforts have also inspired him.
“That has given me a lot of sense of purpose over the years,” he said. “That there’s a purpose beyond just your self-pleasure — [a] pleasure in bringing pleasure to others and helping them through difficult times.”
As CBN News previously reported, Sinise and his family have faced their own time of difficulty after the death of his son, Mac. The 33-year-old died in January after a harrowing battle with Chordoma, a persistent and rare cancer that starts in the spine.
When asked how people could pray for Sinise and his family, the actor welcomed invocations, but encouraged people to also seek God on behalf of others facing similar situations — and on behalf of military veterans and their families.
“There are so many men and women in uniform who struggle daily with the sacrifices they need to make to keep us all safe and free,” Sinise said. “And I’m always praying for them, and I would encourage people to pray along with me for them.”
He continued, “If more of us would reach out and touch each other, we make the world a better place. And I hope to be able to keep doing that. Mac has inspired me to keep doing it.”
Read more about Mac’s cancer battle and Sinise’s reflections on his son here.
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