Actor Gary Sinise is the MAN! [Helping the USO]

ap ^ | 5/23/07 | na

[Flavius]

ANZER KASERNE, Germany — Actor and musician Gary Sinise prepares to fire a M-24 sniper rifle with Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) during a firepower demonstration here May 11. Sinise is visiting the Stuttgart area with his band, the Lt. Dan Band, as part of a USO tour to perform concerts for service members stationed overseas. (Department of Defense photo by Navy Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker)

In this picture supplied by the USO, US actor Gary Sinise (R) listens to US Army CW 4 Leif Neely (L) of Woodbridge, Virginia, tell about how he was wounded while flying his Kiowa Warrior helicopter on a mission over Mosul, Iraq during a visit by Sinise to the hospital at Forward Operating Base Mazur, Iraq, 20 May 2007. Sinise, famous for his role as Lt. Dan in the movie Forrest Gump and currently starring in the TV series CSI:NY, is on a USO-sponsored meet-and-greet tour to boost morale among US forces in the area.

US Actor Gary Sinise, famous for his role as Lt. Dan in the movie Forrest Gump and currently starring in the TV series CSI:NY, sits in a US Army Apache helicopter during a tour of the flight line, at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, 21 May 2007. Sinise is on a USO-sponsored meet-and-greet tour to boost morale among US forces in the area.

Actor Gary Sinise with the staff of the Navy Medical Hospital at Camp Arifjan.

Actor Gary Sinise with Pfc. Jessica White, a hospitalized Soldier at the Navy Medical Hospital at Camp Arifjan

ctor Gary Sinise signs a photo for Sgt. Nina Buckelew, a deployed Soldier with Third Army/U.S. Army Central.

[agincourt1415]

"Looks like he belongs" Dave Lone Ranger

I was thinking that myself, let me guess, his family has some warriors in it, I just know it.

[Valin]

Big bump!!!!

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Not sure if he still carries them but Sinise said when he first started with the USO tour the thing the soldiers wanted to see the most was the Lt. Dan dog tags from the movie. He was glad to show them. He also said that many soldiers do yell out Lt. Dan when they first see him.

Hats off to him.

[wardaddy]

Sinese...a good fella

[Shery]

I also took some pictures at the concert, but I don’t know how to post them, as they are just in my computer files, not on a website. Any helpful hints?

[FredHunter08]

“He also did a fine job in Apollo 13, and on the Disney ride Mission:Space.”

The three complaints I heard from Ken Mattingly on that performance were:

(1) He wasn’t out sulking that night.
(2) He didn’t have a car that nice.
and
(3) He never had that much hair. ;)

[BIGLOOK]

Not too long ago, found a copy of Vanity Faire which had a cover that caught my eye. (Well, they all do.....but that’s moot). It was featuring a Chicago theater repertoire crew and there was Gary Sinese along with a bunch of actors and actresses that each of us would recognize.

Point is, Sinese is theater trained and tried and he ain't Hollywood even though he works out of there now and then.

[Right Wing Agitator]

Gary Sinise as Lt. Dan was one of the greatest supporting actor roles ever. He was more of a co-star he was so good. Lt. Dan went to Viet Nam to die for his country just like every man in his family had done since the American Revolution but was foiled by the hapless Forrest Gump. He went home to be angry and miserable and once again was foiled by Forrest. Go Lt. Dan! Pure greatness on the silver screen and in real life!!! Thanks for your support of our soldiers, Mr. Sinise!

[MEG33]

His CSI is the one I try to remember to watch..I have read so many good things here about Gary’s work for our troops..He definitely isn't Hollyweird!

[PzLdr]

He plays bass guitar.

[Ready4Freddy]

???

[MEG33]

Thank you so much for the thread..Yea Gary!

[CaliGirl-R]

Um, excuse me but they are touring for a cause much more important-—global warming!!! It’s going to kill us all! Duh. LOL

[BlessedBeGod]

The Lt. Dan Band on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Lt.+Dan+Band&search=Search

FYI, the “Lt. Dan Band - 14 May 07” is their performance of “God Bless the USA” from Ramstein AB, Germany.

[SuziQ]

I loved his character in “The Stand”!

[STARWISE]

Gary Sinise is THE MAN!! Thank God for the good folks like he, Charlie Daniels, etc. who care enough to brave the problems and BE there for our awesome troops .. and often. God bless him for ALL he does to help the troops and US, including his charity for schools supplies for Iraqi children - Operation Iraqi Children.

Yes, he is definitely theater-trained, and is a co-founder of Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago:

Birthplace: Blue Island, Illinois
Ensemble Member Since: 1974
Productions with Steppenwolf: 30 (full list)

Gary Sinise is a co-founder of Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Gary is a three-time Tony-nominee for Steppenwolf's productions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Grapes of Wrath and for Best Director of Buried Child. Gary has also directed some of Steppenwolf's most notable productions, including Tracers and Sam Shepard's True West, which he later performed in for Steppenwolf's New York debut.

He's appeared in many films and was Oscar-nominated for Forrest Gump. On the small screen he's won Best Actor awards for George Wallace and Truman, and currently appears in CSI: New York. He plays electric bass in The Lt. Dan Band and is committed to Operation Iraqi Children, a grassroots program he co-created with Laura Hillenbrand that sends school supplies to our troops for the children of Iraq.

[Lancey Howard]

Gary has been a favorite of mine since Gump. He’s the kind of rare actor who makes any movie better just from his being in it. Good to see he has guts, too. Gary Sinise is THE MAN!

[philly-d-kidder]

He was in Kuwait last week and he ate in the DFAC1 on Camp Arifjan my work buddy chatted with him he was very friendly....unpretentious..

[BIGLOOK]

Aloha Starwise!

And a big time

Bravo Zulu

for research and timely reporting!

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Gary Sinise is a great actor.
His character in Forest Gump took on many faces and in one seen when he was up on the ships mast yelling at GOD was great lol.. what great acting.
It was touching how during the movie you can see the positive effect Forest Gump had on LT. Dan, were ? after he was seriously injured, all he wanted to do is go down in Glory like his passed relatives did in passed War generations.
After he saw his legs amputated, he felt sorry for himself, but, during the movie, at a certain turning point ( most likely when he had his shouting match with GOD ) his life took a turn for the better.
In one seen you saw him telling Forest that he thanked Forest for saving his life.
And when LT. Dan jumped in the water with the sunset Forest narrating said that LT. Dan made his peace with GOD.
Near the end of the movie you saw LT Dan coming to Forest Gump's wedding and he found a mate ( in which LT Dan most likely thought he would never find ) and his life turned out alright.
I can say one thing ? Forest Gump was a great movie, and great writing with the rich characters the move had... how about Bubba ? what a character, or the doctor who said " MRS. Gump ? his legs are more crooked than a politician " lol.