Sinise, with escorts, on the parade ground
WEST POINT – Actor Gary Sinise, best known for his role as Lieutenant
Dan in the film, “Forrest Gump,” ”was awarded the Sylvanus
Thayer Award at the US Military Academy Thursday night.
Sinise was recognized, not for his talents as an actor and musician, but for his unwavering dedication to the veteran community. Sinise has participated in USO shows, created the “Lieutenant Dan Band” as a tribute to veterans, provided free meals and shows to veterans at his theatre company, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and has created a veteran charity organization of his own.
He has been serving veteran communities for over 30 years, but said that his real dedication began more recently than that.
“It was really after September 11th when we were attacked and we started deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq and our troops started getting hurt and I was just in a lot of, sort of, pain after that,” said Sinise. “I felt for my country and I felt for the soldiers and the people that were fighting and so I just decided to start visiting them and then I started looking for military charities to support and try to raise money for them and then I started trying to entertain them and it ramped up all the way to the creation of my own foundation.”
Sinise said he will continue to devote his time and effort to serve the nation’s veterans because although he may not be able to decide who fights and when, he can use his own resources to help them as best as he can.
“What I want to do is, no matter where the military goes and if they’re going to be sent back to the middle east, we still obviously have a lot of soldiers and service members in Afghanistan, wherever they go, whatever they do, no matter who’s in the White House making the decisions on where they go, I want to be there for them and do whatever I can,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to me, there’s nothing I can do about changing the battle but, I can do something to back them up and that’s what I’m going to do.”
The Thayer Award has been presented every year since 1958, making Sinise the 57th recipient.
The Thayer Award is presented to one notable individual every year and past recipients include George H.W. Bush, Ross Perot, Condoleezza Rice, Henry Kissinger and many other dedicated Americans who made significant contributions to their county and its people, specifically, individuals who represent the values of duty, honor and country, the core values of the military academy, in a way that is exceptional.
