((PKG)) GARY SINESE FOUNDATION
((Banner: An Actor’s Service))
((Reporter/Camera: Kane Farabaugh))
((Map: Chicago, Illinois))
((NATS))
((Bryan Anderson, Iraq War Veteran))
And most people pre-911 join the military to get college money or to get out of a bad situation or to get an extraordinary life or whatever. That's why I joined was to go see things, see the world. When September 11 happened, that day, we got on the buses, and we were driving to Fort Leonard Wood. I, kind of, thought that recruits would be like, Oh, no, what did I do? I got to figure out a way to get out of this, and it was the exact opposite. It was, you know, it really sucks that our country got attacked but at least we get to be the ones to do something about it. We get to be the tip of that spear and we felt good about that. October 23, 2005. That's the date that I got blown up.
((NATS))
((Bryan Anderson, Iraq War Veteran))
I still smoke, can't be too mad at it because it, kind of, saved my right hand.
How so?
((Bryan Anderson, Iraq War Veteran))
When I got blown up, I had both of my hands on the bottom of the steering wheel, and right before the explosion went off, I took my hand off, grabbed a cigarette, stuck in my mouth. When I want to go light it, the explosion happened and it took the whole bottom of the steering wheel on my left hand off. My legs were laying on the floorboard. My hand was in the passenger seat. Soldiers don't think about coming back halfway. You either think you're going to make it or you're not. It literally felt like three seconds from the time that I closed my eyes to the time I opened them again, and when I opened them, my mom’s face was there and I'm like, mom, whoa, what are you doing here? She's like, no, no, it's okay. You had an accident. I'm like, I know an accident. What the heck you're doing here? She goes, it’s seven days later, and you're at Walter Reed in Washington, D.C. I am like, what? And I'm waking up as a triple amputee and I'm kind of like, okay, now what? I didn't know what life was going to be like? What kind of quality of life I was going to have? At Walter Reed, there are a lot of pure visitors or celebrity visitors. At the time, I was practicing walking on prosthetic legs. I'm trying to like, excuse me, excuse me, can I get by, can I get by? I fell forward and I landed right into somebody and I grabbed his chest and he stood strong and he held me up and I pushed back and I stand up and I'm like Gary Sinise, and he's like the real Lieutenant Dan.
((NATS))
((Bryan Anderson, Iraq War Veteran))
And let me tell you something about Lieutenant Dan.
((Courtesy: “Forrest Gump”, Paramount Pictures))
((MOVIE NATS))
Forrest.
I never thanked you for saving my life.
((NATS))
((Gary Sinise, Actor; Founder, Gary Sinise Foundation))
On the news every night, there were casualty reports from Vietnam and guys just a little bit older than I was were off at war, getting shot at, and then they were coming home to a nation that was torn apart, and there were protests on college campuses, and it was just a terrible time for the army, terrible time for our military. And I learned a lot, you know, in those 70s and 80s. And so, I started supporting local Vietnam Veterans’ groups in the 80s. Then the 90s came along and I got the audition to play a Vietnam veteran.
((MOVIE NATS))
((Gary Sinise, Actor; Founder, Gary Sinise Foundation))
And about four weeks after the movie came out, I got a call from the Disabled American Veterans. They are the largest, sort of, nonprofit advocacy group for wounded veterans that's out there. They have almost 2 million members, wounded veterans. They wanted to give me an award. I walked out on stage and the ballroom was filled with over 2000 wounded veterans, and they were cheering for Lieutenant Dan and the guy who played Lieutenant Dan.
((Courtesy: “Forrest Gump”, Paramount Pictures))
((MOVIE NATS))
He never actually said so, but I think he made his peace with God.
((NATS))
((Bryan Anderson, Iraq War Veteran))
From that point on, I stayed actively involved with the DAV, and then September 11 happened and I just dove in full force.
((NATS))
Alright, we are here live with Gary Sinise.
((Gary Sinise, Actor; Founder, Gary Sinise Foundation))
I just felt compelled to support our active duty service members responding to the attacks of September 11 to try to ensure that what happened to our Vietnam veterans wouldn't happen to them, that they would go off to war, responding to Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda and the attacks on our country, and then they would return and feel appreciated.
((Courtesy: Gary Sinise Foundation))
And we must do all we can to meet the critical needs of our defenders.
((NATS))
((Gary Sinise, Actor; Founder, Gary Sinise Foundation))
There’s a program we have at the Gary Sinise Foundation, called RISE - Restoring Independence, Supporting Empowerment. It is there to provide especially adapted the housing, adapted vehicles to our wounded.
((NATS))
((Courtesy: Gary Sinise Foundation))
((Gary Sinise, Actor; Founder, Gary Sinise Foundation))
You volunteered to serve your country.
I've been involved in building over 70 some houses for badly wounded serviceman. All the origins of the programs are documented in Grateful American and where they came from.
((NATS))
((Courtesy: Gary Sinise Foundation))
((Gary Sinise, Actor; Founder, Gary Sinise Foundation))
There's so much in the book. It really is a journey from self to service, and it's not, I don't mean selfish or anything like that by that. I just mean, in the early days, my career that's documented in the book, I had a singular focus on my acting, my directing, and my theatre company, and I thought I would write a book about how I got to the service work and trace those steps, and the importance of the veterans and my family, and the seeds that were planted along the way, to get us to what has become the Gary Sinise Foundation.
((NATS))
((Courtesy: Gary Sinise Foundation))
Let's welcome Gary Sinise and the Lieutenant Dan band.
((NATS))
((Bryan Anderson, Iraq War Veteran))
He's a humble guy too. He’d probably respond that we can never do enough. I'm just trying to do my little part. I got the sense that he felt a little guilty that he never served and that he took the path that he did. But I tried to tell him, look, we all serve in our own ways and we do the best we can, and you're more of a patriot than some of the guys that I've served with, and so, I want him to know that just because he didn't serve doesn't mean he's not serving or isn't like probably one of the best biggest patriots in our country.
((NATS))
((Courtesy: Gary Sinise Foundation))
((Gary Sinise, Actor; Founder, Gary Sinise Foundation))
No beans??
No.
Lieutenant Dan’s beans.
((Gary Sinise, Actor; Founder, Gary Sinise Foundation))
I want to just do my bit to make sure that they are not forgotten. And you know, unfortunately, we still have people that are serving in harm's way. They're still in the war zones. They’re still getting hurt. We were still losing them. It's a dangerous world out there. They deploy to places that we don't even know about and they end up getting hurt or the their families end up losing them. I don't want to forget that. Veterans are my family. I have great respect for veterans. I didn't serve myself but I'm a beneficiary of what our defenders do for us on a daily basis. So, I want to support them in any way I can.
((NATS))
((Gary Sinise, Actor; Founder, Gary Sinise Foundation))
So, that's why I'm here just to make sure that you know that. Okay!!
((NATS))
