Grateful American by Gary Sinise

...my thoughts... 

Grateful American A Journey From Self to Service is Gary Sinise's inspiring story.  He has become one of our country's favorite role model for selfless service to others.  I am inspired by this service and his dedication to our military, and first responders.  Throughout the book I was touched by his honor and respect for those who serve us, often in the most trying situations. I looked forward to reading just one more chapter to keep up the momentum of his tireless ideas and willingness to look for ways to help his fellow Americans when they need us most. 

As a young man he made lifelong friends with fellow actors who started the  Steppenwolf theater together in Chicago.  It was  grand time for creative ideas, yet nobody thought these young men and women had what it takes to build a theater troupe that is still alive and thriving in Chicago today.  In subsequent years he teamed up with his friends and colleagues over and over.  It was at the theater where he was inspired to offer free nights for Veterans at the theater.  It was at the theater that he was prompted to never give up when pursuing the rights to perform plays written by and performed by vets.  It was at this theater that he met his loving wife Moira. 

The theater continued to play a role in his service to the vets after meeting Moira's brothers Mac and James.  Gary was inspired by their service and all the courage and dedication they had to serving our country.  As a woman who was a teenager during the sixties, I remember well how our military were treated when they returned from Vietnam.  Two of my brothers served in Vietnam and one received a Purple Heart for injuries he sustained in the war.  I know several young men who were killed or badly wounded in the war.  It was devastating.  Can we ever thank them enough?

Today we fight in another arena and I am grateful for the work Gary Sinise continues to do through the Gary  Sinise Foundation.  I can't imagine the pace he worked through to go to so many U.S.O. shows, whether to shake hands or perform with the Lt. Dan Band and for the time he has spent visiting our severely wounded in the military hospitals at home and abroad on their first stop for treatment. 

In addition to the military, his work with First Responders is tremendous.  As he describes September 11, 2001 in the book, I was taken back to the moment I heard of this horrific attack;  while watching it unfold on live television. Our country pulled together and became stronger.

  I am happy I had an opportunity to be a member of the Grateful American Launch Team.  Reading this book has been a memorable experience.  This is a good story of an aimless teen who found his purpose in a life of selfless service to our country.  He is one in a million.  I am grateful for him and also his family who have supported him and his time away from home because they truly understand how important his work is and the impact it makes on the lives of so many.  Throughout the book he is grateful for his life and career as an American.   How refreshing for times such as these. 

...from the publisher...


As a kid in suburban Chicago, Gary Sinise was more interested in sports and rock-n-roll than reading or schoolwork. But when he impulsively auditioned for a school production of "West Side Story," he found his purpose--or so it seemed. Within a few years Gary and a handful of friends created what became one of the most exciting and important new theater companies in America. From its home in a church basement in Highland Park, Illinois, the Steppenwolf Theatre launched a series of groundbreaking productions, igniting Gary's career along with those of John Malkovich, Joan Allen, Gary Cole, Laurie Metcalf, Dennis Farina, John Mahoney, and others. Television and film came calling soon after, and Gary starred in Of Mice and Men (which he directed) and The Stand  before taking the role that would change his life in unforeseeable ways: Lieutenant Dan in the Academy Award-winning Forrest Gump.

The military community’s embrace of the character of the disabled veteran was matched only by the depth of Gary's realization that America's defenders had not received all the honor, respect, and gratitude their sacrifices deserve. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, this became Gary's mission. While starring in hits like Apollo 13, Ransom, Truman, George Wallace, CSI: NY, and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Gary has worked tirelessly on behalf of those who serve this country, entertaining more than a half million troops around the world playing bass guitar with his Lieutenant Dan Band, raising funds on behalf of veterans, and eventually founding the Gary Sinise Foundation with a mission to serve and honor America’s defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need.
Grateful American is the moving, entertaining, profoundly gripping story of how one man found his calling: to see that those who defend this country and its freedoms are never forgotten.