The Bob Hope of our time
Russ Vaughn


With the exceptions of Bob Hope and Martha Raye, there may be no other American entertainer who has served our armed forces more. That person is Gary Sinise, actor, director, producer writer, musician, a bit of a down home, foot-shuffling, aw-shucks guy from the Midwest who has probably spent as much time in war zones as many members of our over-worked military, and certainly more than any Member of Congress. Sinise is one of those rare humans who is easy to sum up in quick terms: a really good guy. Or if you wish to add accolades as I'm sure many in the military would: a really damned good guy, among many other unpublishable terms of praise.
The role Sinise played in Forrest Gump, that of Lieutenant Dan Taylor, an embittered, double-amputee veteran of Vietnam, made him, whether he wanted it to or not, forever a part of the military and veteran community. He wasn't necessarily a hero, but simply someone with whom they could identify and find some hope and cause  in their lives, through his spot-on depiction of the despair and resurrection of a horribly wounded veteran in a horribly wounded cause.
To his everlasting credit, Gary Sinise, quietly accepted the burden of being the iconic, Lt. Dan, to one of the most  emotionally and politically disquieted factions in America. Though he'd never worn the uniform, nor much less been in combat, he had thoroughly resonated as Lt. Dan with those who had, as well as the broader audience who had seen his screen depiction. In what I consider a bit of inspired creative and moral genius, in 2004, Sinise, along with Kimo Williams, created the Lt. Dan Band, and began playing to military audiences around the world.   
Since that time, Sinise has taken the Lt. Dan Band into combat zones repeatedly to entertain our combat-deployed troops. Few civilians ever attain the level of acceptance among the troops that Sinise has: Bob Hope, Martha Ray and most assuredly, John Wayne; but few others are in that pantheon, and certainly no other contemporaries. And yes, part of it is attributable to the fictional role of Lt. Dan, but most of it is due to Sinise's pure dogged determination to serve, uniform or no, as the real deal, a singing junior officer in arms, Lieutenant Dan, in the flesh, right there in the combat zone with them. As a Vietnam vet, that resonates mightily with me, as I'm sure it does with all my brothers and sisters of our war.
As a country, we struggle to preserve and maintain our social structures that made us the great nation that we are. Regardless of your political views as to the wars we wage, Gary Sinise should be considered an American warrior of the first order in our national conflicts.


Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com...e.html#ixzz20gL4MUiR

Resonates with me also.
God Bless and protect him.
Thank You Gary.

Few privelidged people recognize what they have they do not really deserve. So many "famous" personalities have no appreciation for thier situation and it shows.

Mr. Sinise is a rare breed and should be recieving accolades from his peers. I know when serving in the middle east we were there for months longer than we were supposed to be and never saw a USO show of any kind. It would have been nice.

Thanks, Gary, you're one of the good guys.
Semper Fi!

Gary gets my

Was glad when CSI:NY was not cancelled for the next season. Sometimes life is almost reasonable.

God bless the USO, and everyone who donates their time to it...actor, singer, musician, roadie, or coffee server.

It was one of the few bright lights overseas. I assume it still is. The USO tells service folks we still know and appreciate who they are, and not just in words. The unpaid USO presence in combat zones says a whole lot more.

Saw him in Iraq while I was over there two years ago as a contractor (am a retired VN vet). He is definitely the real thing.
Max

I never did get to see him while deployed. I did appreciate everyone that I did see. They took personal time to come over and vist. One of the funniest things I heard if when a cheerleader from Minn. Vikings asked if Pennsylvania is anywhere near Pittsburgh

I saw Bob Hope's show at Freedom Hill (Danang) in 1970. It was the highlight of my tour in Vietnam. I'm sure our troops serving today feel the same way about Gary's shows. A true patriot, indeed.

Semper Fi

My son has a pic of him + Gary,arm in arm at the USO show when he was in the last sandbox debacle.The man is really short in stature (not character!),I was surprised. You may have to hunt for this but a friend of mine is in the Lone Star Air Force (reconditions vintage planes,does air shows etc.) Sent me a video of Gary Sinise surprising his dad with a flight in a B-17,the same as he flew in WW2.Hats off to a fine American.

The Navy made him an Honorary Chief Petty Officer not long ago. That is something fairly rare and it speaks volumes about how the Navy feels about him.

I knew this thread was about Gary before I even read the first post.

He has won a few awards over the years for his USO work.

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