Actor Gary Sinise rose to fame playing the character Lieutenant Dan in the Oscar-winning movie “Forrest Gump.” The role popularized him with military veterans and helped inspire the Gary Sinise Foundation.
As a young man, it was Sinise’s connection to his wife’s siblings — who served in the Vietnam War — that first showed him the struggles military veterans deal with after serving.
“They had a really, really difficult time when they came home,” Sinise said. “It was a divided time in our country… it was just not a good thing to be a Vietnam veteran [sic]. It was a shameful time in our history the way we treated our veterans.”
Sinise joined “Inside the Issues” host Alex Cohen to talk about his foundation’s work to help disabled veterans and “Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret,” a play written by a veteran Ret. Lt. Col Scott Mann.
After playing Lt. Dan, Sinise got involved with the Disabled American Veterans Organization in the 1980s and 1990s. Then the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks was another catalyst for his involvement in supporting veterans and to start his own foundation.
The Gary Sinise Foundation has built and provided disabled veterans mortgage-free adapted smart homes. The homes are specifically built to accommodate the needs of disable veterans and their families.
So far, the foundation has built 82 smart homes across the country for severely wounded veterans who returned home from Afghanistan and Iraq.
“I wanted to play a role in supporting them, making sure that what happened to our Vietnam veterans [sic] when they were neglected and treated badly when they came home from war, I didn’t want that to happen to those who were responding to Sept. 11,” Sinise said.
At the federal level, Republicans have made recent budget proposals that could cut programs for military veterans.
Though Sinise highlights it’s not solely the government’s job to help veterans.
“I think we all have a role to play. These are our defenders, these are our freedom providers,” Sinise said. “I don’t think it’s up to the government, nor can the government cover all the needs of everybody who goes off to war and comes home from war.”
Sinise notes nonprofits like his play a crucial role in filling the gaps that aren’t being covered by the federal government.
To help fill those gaps, the Gary Sinise Foundation is sponsoring the theatre production “Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret,” a play focused on the struggles military veterans face; performed by an all-veteran cast with performances across the country.
The play will be performed on May 5 and 6 at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido.
“We want to encourage the veteran community in that area to come and see this play. I think it’s very healing. Gold Star families have been coming to see this play. It tells their stories of what it’s like to go through loss, and pain, and to let go,” Sinise said.
