For Christmas I asked my fiance for a book, Gary Sinise: Grateful American.
Well, I just finished it. Like a minute before I started typing this.
The book is an autobiography of the man who would play Truman in, well, Truman, a detective on CSI, and, most popularly, Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump.
And even though it's an autobiography, half of the book is about how he's devoted his life to helping others who serve our nation. Our military and firefighters, in particular.
Incredible guy, to give so much back to those who help make our great nation even greater.
His respect for those in the uniform goes back to his own family, like his grandfather and (future) brother in law, Jack. Growing up in the time of Vietnam, he became interested in the stories of the soldiers, getting to know several who served during this time. That inspired him to promote those who served, starting with a free night at his theater (which was created along with other actors including John Malkovich), and eventually his own organization. He's done USO tours for decades and done SO MUCH more than just meet-and-greets.
Moving that a guy who could simply just act for a living and make plenty of money decides to donate his time, energy, and personal money to help others.
As of the writing of the book, over 70 homes have been build for disabled service members to live a more independent life, all free of charge for the veterans. Given out hundreds of thousands of meals, tons (literally) of school supplies to children in war torn nations like Afghanistan, had special days/festivals for the children of fallen soldiers etc
Just incredible.
The book will pull at your heartstrings at times, with the harsh realities of war and that, sadly, men are, often, severely harmed during these conflicts. Even through that they never stop fighting and living the best way they can.
Gosh, I really liked this one and now Gary Sinise has a new fan.