Gary has generously agreed to participate and appear on “Troop-a-thon,” Move America Forward’s campaign to send the largest ever shipment of care packages to U.S. troops serving overseas.
On June 25th, MAF will host its 2nd annual “Troop-a-thon” titled “Honor Their Service.” During the 8-hour event that will be broadcast on the internet, radio and TV viewers are encouraged to sponsor care packages for the troops as the guests and hosts discuss various topics related to supporting our troops. Last year, viewers donated more than $1.5 million to send care packages to troops.
Additional information about the event, including other guests, and eventually, the program schedule is available at Troop-a-thon 2009.
Video of Gary at THR USO Function; Gary and Lt. Dan Band USO Summer Tour
As some of you may have already known, Gary attended a USO function hosted by Hollywood Reporter and Editor Elizabeth Guider in Beverly Hills last month. Video of Gary speaking at this event recently became available and is embedded below:
Some terrific still photographs of Gary at this event are available at CSI:Fanatic click here.
And while we are on the topic of Gary’s commitment to the USO, he and the Lt. Dan Band will soon be off on their USO Summer Tour (June 21st through July 5th) to perform for troops in Korea and Okinawa. We wish the band a safe journey and hope the men and woman in uniform have a fantastic time at the shows!
Since the USVAP fundraiser at Joe’s in April, Gary has been busy as usual. A few loyal Gary fans and friends have graciously shared their photographs from various events, and despite our lag time getting the photos uploaded to the News page, we hope you enjoy them just the same:
With thanks to Glenda Cain, photographs taken of the Lt. Dan Band performance at the Steppenwolf Theatre Gala on April 19, 2009:
From Liz Wegman we have photographs of Gary and M*A*S*H’s Jamie Farr taken in May at the OIC warehouse. Thank you, Liz!
And saving the best for last ~ fantastic photographs from Virginia Hagin taken at the Lt. Dan Band show at Ft. Riley in May:
Thanks again to Glenda, Liz and Virginia for sharing their photographs!
Photos of Lt. Dan Band at Joe’s (USVAP benefit concert)
On Friday, April 17th the Lt. Dan Band played to a sold out crowd at Joe’s Bar in Chicago. Each year this particular concert is a fundraiser for the United States Vietnam Arts Program which has expanded its mission to include providing “artistic tools” to wounded service members from Iraq and Afghanistan wars (read more about USVAP here).
During the concert, “artistic tools” were presented to Shane Parsons and Laura Narvaez. Shane suffered a head injury and above knee amputation to both legs while serving in Iraq. Laura suffers from traumatic brain injuries as a result of incidents while serving in Iraq and Korea; she cannot read or do math and has short term memory loss. To help them heal in ways not visible to many of us, the USVAP presented Shane with a guitar to pursue his childhood dream of playing one and his love of music; Laura was presented with a camera to pursue her love of photography.
And while Shane and Laura were the true VIPs of the evening, part of the USVAP fundraising efforts included VIP All-Access passes and a VIP Meet and Greet event with Gary held after the show. The VIP All-Access donors were invited to attend the afternoon sound-check, enjoy dinner with the band, a private introduction and photographs with Gary and Kimo as well as a copy of the American Soldier DVD narrated by Gary (this is the video montage which kicked off the show and is available via the USVAP website), Lt. Dan Band merchandise and Kimo’s War Stories CD.
The first two photographs below are from the sound check earlier in the day. They are graciously provided by Glenda C. and with many thanks from me personally because I arrived much too late in the day (Cubs game!) to take any photos worth sharing. (Maybe next year!) Click on the photos to enlarge. Gary: Kimo, Ernie, Beth and Gary:
And many thanks to Alice E. for sharing her photographs of Gary from the show!
Thanks to Kimo, Gary and the band for a terrific evening and fantastic show! Our best wishes and much gratitude to Shane and Laura! And many thanks to Glenda and Alice for sharing their photographs!
WASHINGTON/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On Memorial Day weekend, PBS will unite our nation with an evening that has become an American tradition. The multi award-winning National Memorial Day Concert honors the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, their families at home and all those who have given their lives for our country. The 2009 event commemorates 20 years on air as the nation’s memorial service, offering viewers a time to remember, to heal and bring our country together. The program is co-hosted for the fourth year by Emmy Award-winner Gary Sinise (CSI: New York) and Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds), two acclaimed actors who have dedicated themselves to veteran’s causes and supporting our troops in active service. The top-rated show will be broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on PBS Sunday, May 24 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET (check local listings) before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, as well as to our troops serving around the world on the American Forces Radio and Television Network.
Video: “Brothers at War” Premiere Week, Gary with Andrea Mitchell, Michael Savage
Video montage of Brothers at War premiere week (nice chat with Gary):
Also, Brothers at War will open in eight new cities on Friday, March 27, including:
Oceanside, CA (near Camp Pendleton) at the Regal Oceanside 16
Savannah, GA (near Fort Stewart) at the Carmike Wynnsong 11
Decatur, IL (Hometown of the Rademacher Family) at the Carmike Hickory Pointe 12
Cleveland Heights, OH at the Cedar Lee Theatre
Dayton, OH (near the Wright Patterson Air Force Base) at the Regal Hollywood 20 Fairfield Commons
Lakewood, WA. (near Fort Lewis) at the AMC Lakewood Mall 12
San Antonio, TX (near Fort Sam Houston) at the Bijou at the Crossroads
Killeen, TX (near Fort Hood) at the Hollywood Stadium 14
Gary’s close friend and co-founder of the Lt. Dan Band, Kimo Williams has announced VIP packages for the Lt. Dan Band concert at Joe’s on Friday, April 17th.
Kimo is also founder of the United States Vietnam Program (USVAP), and the Joe’s concert is a benefit for this not-for-profit organization. Packages include the opportunity to meet Gary and the band as well as merchandise. Please see USVAP website for details.
If you missed any of Gary’s television appearances this week promoting “Brothers at War,” below are available video clips (or links to the program’s website):
Monday, March 16th on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:
Or go to The View - video Click”Celebrity Interviews.” Click “2009.” In the center of the page, use the horizontal scroll bar to find 03/17 interviews. Click the thumbnail (little box) under Gary’s name and the video will begin in the larger box above the horizontal scroll bar.
In conjuction with the (limited) release of “Brothers at War,” Gary has given a number of interviews and made a few appearances this past week. In an effort to not be repetitive, two of the more comprehensive interviews with Gary are listed (and linked) below.
This coming week, watch for Gary on the following programs:
Monday, March 16th: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, NBC
Tuesday, March 17th: The View, ABC
Wednesday, March 18th: The Early Show, CBS
At Chicago’s National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum, Gary Sinise stands in front of a sculpture comprising 58,000 dog tags, symbolizing U.S. losses in Vietnam. Sinise is executive producer of the documentary “Brothers at War.” (Tribune photo by E. Jason Wambsgans / February 28, 2009)
December 15th: Gary Participating in Online White House Forum
This event has concluded. The transcript is available here.
Apologies for the short notice on this item.
At noon today (December 15th), Gary will be participating in Ask the White House. This is an online interactive forum that allows you to submit a question to administration officials and friends of the White House.
Gary, a 2008 recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal, will discuss Operation Iraqi Children and the importance of community service.
