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!
