Michael Yon on Gary Sinise

Don't miss Michael Yon's words on Gary Sinise. Sinise is ONE TRUE PATRIOT and does so much for the troops! Yon has a schedule of the Lt. Dan Band's base shows and another hot picture here.

(Photo credit William G. S. Smith)

Of Mice and Men and Gary Sinise

I showed my students the film Of Mice and Men today. Sometimes I feel guilty showing them that movie because they are always so horrified at the ending. No spoilers here, just in case you've never read it.

There are many great teachable moments in the novel, however, and we get a lot of great class discussion out of the themes, plus we get to read the Robert Burns poem.

And I get to spend time watching Gary Sinise who is a true patriot and a great actor!

Review: On the Road With Gary Sinise

What a true patriot Gary Sinise is! I just watched the FOX special, "On The Road With Gary Sinise" and it was great.

He's been to Iraq several times as well as Afghanistan and many other places, but this special centered primarily on his most recent Iraq visit. You'll have to catch the rebroadcast, or get the soon-to-be-released documentary, but it's a great story.

Sinise is not at all self-promoting here, although he could easily be. His focus is all about the troops, their service, and their sacrifice. The segment on Hussein's palaces was incredible and horrifying. The gratitude of the troops to Sinise for his visit was very moving, especially the guy on the C-130 that wrote a message to Sinise on the brim of a hat and passed it down the line to him. Sinise read it then looked up at the guy who smiled, nodded, and thumped his own chest over his heart with his fist - a thank you.

On that same flight Sinise opened and read a note he received from another soldier at the base which said how much his visits meant to them. He was clearly overcome with emotion at the words of the letter. Very moving.

The special closed with Sinise doing a voice-over of how much it meant to him to receive the Presidential Citizen's Medal in December. What impresses me so much about him is his attitude of celebrity. He points out that he makes a good living and appreciates his freedoms, as should we all, but that he feels that the way HE can serve is by entertaining the troops. His Lt. Dan Band is pretty darn good!

In this day and age when so many, not all, but many, celebrities are so self consumed, it is more than refreshing to see someone like Sinise or Chris Isaak (who was on one of these trips) and others who give their time to support the men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform of our country.

Sinise closes with a reminder to us here at home to thank those folks who serve whenever we see them. It means more than you know.

On The Road With Gary Sinise

Saturday night FOX News is airing a Gary Sinise special called On The Road in Iraq with Gary Sinise; here's what Sinise, who recently was awarded the Presidential Citizen's Medal, says about it:

"My brother-in–law Jack Treese served as a medic in Vietnam and wore his dog tags on a rosary with a St. Christopher medal. I wore that same rosary and dog tags as my character, “Lt. Dan”, in the movie “Forrest Gump”. With the help of the USO, my brother-in-law Jack, and my friend Jonathan Flora who used a handheld camera, you will see what happened on a seven day trip I took to Iraq last summer which will air this Saturday night on the FOX News Channel. It was my fourth trip there with the USO. My goal, as always, was to cover as many miles as possible and to take pictures, sign autographs and shake hands with as many troops as I could in the time I had."

As previously posted, Sinise is a huge supporter of our troops and is one of the most active celebrities working in the old Bob Hope USO fashion. I remember all those Bob Hope specials on TV as I was growing up. Sinise works tirelessly to thank our troops for their service.

If you get the chance this weekend, check it out, or at least set your DVR! You'll see Sinise meeting troops throughout Iraq and a bit of his Lt. Dan Band!

Gary Sinise: Patriot!

Actor Gary Sinise, aka Lt. Dan, received the Presidential Citizens Medal today from President Bush. I was pleased to see this because everything I know about Sinise is that he is a true patriot and all 'round good-guy. He is probably most known for his role in Forest Gump but if you ask a lot of service men and women they might say he is best known for the support and love he has shown them.

Steve can probably speak to this better, but Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band appeared at Fort Polk when Steve was stationed there and Steve had nothing but good things to say about the guy. Sinise takes his Lt. Dan Band tirelessly around the globe on USO tours to entertain the troops. He has also visited soldiers in Walter Reed and also the Navy Medical Center in Maryland. He has visited with Iraqi school children and with author Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit) founded the Operation Iraqi Children Program which provides school supplies to Iraqi children.

The Presidential Citizens Medal was established in 1969 to recognize U.S. citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for the nation; it is one of the highest honors a civilian can receive from the President, second only to the Medal of Freedom.

Good call by President Bush on this one! As Bill O'Reilly would say, Mr. Sinise is a patriot!