From the hills of Hollywood to the hills of Tennessee, Gary Sinise has carried his love for entertainment, community, and service the whole way. Since his iconic role as Lieutenant Dan in the movie Forrest Gump, Sinise has worked hard to build a legacy through the Gary Sinise Foundation. Over the years, he has continued to make a profound impact through his work with veterans and service workers around the nation.
Tell us about your inspiration behind the admirable work you do at the Gary Sinise Foundation.
I have a lot of veterans in my own family, and on my wife's side of the family, as well. There were a lot of factors that contributed to the foundation, going back to the ’80s when I started supporting Vietnam veterans in the Chicago area… I felt a lot of compassion for them. I tried to help in various ways when I was living in Chicago and then moved out to Los Angeles, [where I] ended up getting a part in Forrest Gump as Lieutenant Dan — I actually was invited to the National Convention of the Disabled American Veterans Organization because [my character] was a double amputee. They invited me to come to Chicago to receive an award for playing Lieutenant Dan. I went and was very moved… There were around two thousand wounded veterans in that ballroom. [I’ve remained] involved with them for over thirty years now, but that all led up to what happened after September 11th, 2001. I had just started volunteering for the USO and was supporting a lot of different military nonprofits... I started meeting extraordinary people. I'd done many USO tours and started meeting a bunch of people that were involved in various nonprofits that were supporting the military, and then I just figured, ‘hey, this is something that I'm very passionate about — something I care about — and I think I'm helping a little bit by showing up,’ so I decided to start my own foundation and we launched in 2011.
Your foundation helps veterans in so many ways — can you expand on how you serve?
I got involved with so many different nonprofits that were operating in many different kinds of spaces… I was just lending a hand and going out there and entertaining the troops. I started taking a band with me on tours, then getting involved with other organizations that were supporting Gold Star children and first responders. All of that led to the creation of the Gary Sinise Foundation and our mission. Having done a lot of work with a lot of different organizations, I had seen where the needs were, and I saw how I could participate in helping fill those needs, so it became clear that it was time to start my own organization. We made a very broad mission statement that [allowed us to] fill needs in a lot of different spaces. It's a big mission… We have to have a pretty strong and active team to fill all those needs, but thankfully, the American people continue to support us, and that allows us to expand our programs all the time and do a lot of different things.
The Walls of Honor is a beautiful way to tribute a local hero. How does involving the local community by having them write messages of gratitude on the inside frame of the new home that is being built help deepen the connection between civilians and service members?
[In our mission statement,] we support and provide various programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities... when I put built communities in there, it was out of something that I had been doing prior to the foundation. [I would go] to these various communities [where] we were building homes for our wounded, and trying to rally community support around that local hero to make sure they knew that hero was there in their town. I didn't want to just build a house for somebody who had been severely wounded and then have them disappear into the house and never come out… I wanted the community to rally around [them] because that's how we help each other, right? I wanted people to be aware of that, and I wanted to build communities of support in various ways. We're supporting the spouses of our fallen heroes by creating empowerment workshops for them and building a strong community of support with people that are going through the same type of thing. Same with our Gold Star children - children that have lost a parent in service - we have programs that are designed specifically to bring those children together, introduce them to one another, and build a community of support within that group. When you build these communities of support, it shows people that they are not alone in what they're dealing with.
When you first started the foundation, did you ever expect it to become what it is today — making such an incredible difference not just for veterans, but for their families too?
When I launched it, I wanted to create something that was going to be lasting and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any of the [existing] top nonprofit organizations that are supporting veterans, first responders, and their families. I put a lot of thought into how we could do that, but over time, things have gotten stronger — and we've earned the trust of the American people, which is very important. My goal was to rally people to support [those] sacrificing in service to our country, to create something that was reliable that the American people would trust and feel is a worthy organization to support because of the way we're doing our work and because of the people that we were trying to do it for. I'm very grateful that we have a lot of support right now, but there are always evolving and changing needs… always a need for more support… so we're always looking to build bases of support so that we can expand our programs and serve more people.
What made Nashville the perfect city to move both your family and foundation to?
I was in Southern California working in the movie and television business — I actually started the foundation while I was still working on the television series CSI New York. I had a little two-room office at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, and that's where it started. Eventually, we moved into a larger space in Woodland Hills, California. Then, I decided I wanted to move my family to Nashville. I've had good relationships here in town over the years with the folks in the music business… I've actually done many concerts, not too far from here at Fort Campbell. I started zeroing in on Nashville because of the amount of time that I had already spent here — and the people that I knew here — and Tennessee is very centrally located. I've done concerts at many of those bases all around Tennessee, and they’re very easy to get to. Every day we're doing something, and it's just a good place to be. Plus, it's also very veteran-friendly and very supportive of our veterans and first responders. People really care about the men and women who serve our country here.
Later this month, the Gary Sinise Foundation will be dedicating its hundredth home. What do you hope people walk away thinking or feeling after experiencing one of your events or seeing a home dedication?
What’s fantastic about an event like our home dedication is that you have many corporate sponsors that provide support for these homes that we build… and in many cases, a lot of those folks come to the home dedications, and they're a part of it. That [not only] gives us an opportunity to thank them for their support, but it also gives them an opportunity to spend some time with the wounded service member that they've supported. They can see the change that they're making. These homes that we build really provide opportunities for the service member and family to be more independent, so we provide all kinds of mechanics in the house [using] smart technology. When you go into a home like that at one of our dedications and you see all the people that are involved, it’s inspiring. One of the goals for me was to provide an opportunity for people to come together to support the men and women and serve our country, and now, many of these sponsors [and] individuals who supported us want [to continue] to do more and more. If you look at all our programs, they're all designed to lift people up and make things better for somebody who's sacrificed a lot. It's a good feeling to know that just a little bit of effort can make a big difference in somebody's life.
You’re performing with the Lt. Dan Band at the Grand Ole Opry this Veteran’s Day— what does it mean to take the stage at such an iconic venue for such a meaningful occasion?
We played at the Opry last summer, which was spectacular. I mean, I'm an actor… I don't even play for living.. and all of a sudden, here I am up on the Opry stage playing this iconic spot with all these great artists on the bill, and it was just the biggest kick! What a thrill. We’ve played hundreds of shows, and the folks of the Opry [are] very supportive of our veterans, and know the mission that I'm on here. They wanted to find an opportunity to get the band [back] in there, so we decided to do something special for the 30th anniversary of Forrest Gump. It went so well that the Opry said, ‘When are you coming back?’ So, I started talking to them about doing something on Veterans Day, and they were keen on that. We’ve got a great bunch of artists on the bill. [There is also] something special that we're going to do… my son, Mac, died of a very rare cancer, Chordoma, in early 2024. He was a great musician, composer, songwriter… he wrote a lot of music. Right before he died, he finished an album called Resurrection and Revival. He recorded that music in the final year of his life. After he died, I found all this other music on his laptop that he had written. My band [now] plays two of his songs in our show, so Mac is going to have his Opry debut on Veterans Day!
Looking ahead, what is your vision for how the Gary Sinise Foundation can continue to grow its presence in Middle Tennessee and beyond?
When we got to Tennessee, I made it a point with our staff and our leaders — I have a great team of folks that do the daily work of the Gary Sinise Foundation — and said, ‘This is our new home. Franklin is our home. Tennessee is our state, and I want to be a part of the community.’ I want us to be a real presence and for people to know that we are here and we are serving our veterans and our first responders. Being a part of the community is very, very important to me — and our staff is doing a great job with their outreach and making sure people that might need our services know they are available and [that] we're here to help. I want to continue to expand that. As we set the stage at the Gary Sinise Foundation for the long haul, I want the foundation to be around a long time. I'm working very hard [continue to build] something that can last for decades to come.
"I wanted the community to rally around [them] because that's how we help each other, right?"
"When I launched it, I wanted to create something that was going to be lasting and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any of the [existing] top nonprofit organizations that are supporting veterans, first responders, and their families."