A genuine commitment to military

Don Kramer/Northwest Guardian

You had to be there Monday to see the affection the members of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord community poured out for international movie and television star Gary Sinise. He had brought his Lt. Dan Band to Memorial Stadium for the installation’s Freedom Fest to celebrate the Fourth of July with yet another military community, and you knew there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

Sinise has toured the world with his band, entertaining troops and military Families in the direct tradition of the late comedian and patriot, Bob Hope.

Sinese’s schedule is daunting. He called his present acting gig on CBS television’s “CSI: NY” a “blessing” that allows him the freedom to pursue what can only be a calling. He tapes Mondays through Thursdays, with Fridays negotiable.

Since the beginning of the series in 2004, he has made it clear to his producers that he needs time with his band, that is to say, with servicemembers. Most Fridays since, he and his band have flown to meet military members around the world and perform for them. He typically returns home Sundays. That amounts to about 40 concerts a year, of which he estimates 75 percent are for military audiences or galas for military causes.

Contrast Sinise’s use of his free time with most media personalities, whose agents help them parlay popular steady roles into alternate wealth-building opportunities. There are far more lucrative things he could do on weekends than fly to Afghanistan to play free concerts, for which he and band members pull off the flak vests they wore on the way to austere COBs or FOBs.

Sinise’s commitment to the military predated 9/11, but got jump started in a big way that day. It even began before “Forrest Gump,” in which he played a conflicted wounded warrior, Lt. Dan Taylor, who inspired the band’s name.

“My wife’s two brothers served in Vietnam. Also her sister’s husband served in Vietnam,” Sinese said after sound checks onstage at JBLM’s Memorial Stadium. “I have lots of Vietnam veteran pals. Back in the early ‘80s, I got involved with various Vietnam veteran groups in Chicago, started a program at my theater for Vietnam veterans and have been involved in some way for many years.”

The Disabled American Veterans contacted him in the wake of his “Forrest Gump” popularity, and the seeds of his current punishing schedule were sown. He began visiting military units wherever they were stationed. In 2009, he met (then) Maj. Gen. Mike Scaparrotti, who commanded Joint Combined Task Force 82 in Afghanistan.

“I’ve met extraordinary people (and) ... gotten to do extraordinary things ... and gotten to see our military in action,” Sinise said. “They appreciate somebody like me who is interested in what they do because, as (Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff) Admiral (Mike) Mullen said, there’s a real disconnect between the average American citizen and the military.

“Somebody like me can go out there and experience the skill and dedication in what our people do, meet extraordinary leaders and the extraordinary people serving our country, see the perseverance and courage of our wounded warriors and what they’re going through trying to overcome the challenges that they face now,” he said. “It’s inspiring for me and it’s an incentive to explain what I see so that more people understand why we should be so grateful, so fortunate (for) this dedicated military service out there defending us.”

Sinese said he hopes to continue spreading the reality of the professionalism and sacrifices of the nation’s warriors.

“It’s a dangerous, dangerous world out there and there are a lot of people on our side spending 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year trying to prevent bad things from happening to our country.”

As long as he’s able, Sinise plans to continue visiting those people, listening to them and expressing from the heart his and the nation’s appreciation for what they do.