Gary and actor Joe Mantegna will be co-hosting the 2007 National Memorial Day Concert. to be held in Washington DC on May 27.

Those scheduled to appear include singer Natalie Cole, Academy Award-winning actress Dianne Wiest, county music star Josh Turner, Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actor Jimmy Smits, actress Bonnie Hunt, actor Charles Durning (a World War II veteran) and the National Symphony Orchestra. Colin L. Powell, former general and secretary of state, will also speak. More details here.

The concert will be broadcast on PBS stations around the country, so check your local listings.

Gary’s currently in Europe with the LDB on a USO tour, and will be heading on his own to Iraq for the USO in the next day or two. He’ll be back in the States for Memorial Day weekend, which for Gary will include the GI Film Festival and acting as Grand Marshall for the National Memorial Day Parade.

After that? A well-deserved vacation before returning to the set of CSI:NY. (We hope he has a very relaxing and enjoyable one!)

As you may recall, we’ve been rather skeptical about the Star Trek XI rumors, filing them under “speculation” — we can now confirm that’s all it was. Gary recently confirmed to the Washington Times that his casting as Dr. McCoy was a “bad rumor.” (Oh! Since I have sort-of an excuse to link to this — if you haven’t seen LOL Trek, you really, really should. I haven’t seen anything quite so funny on the Internet in a long time.)

Finally — I can’t seem to resist pointing out that people are actually still asking this question.

Thanks to the ever-faithful and diligent Glenda, we have some photos for you of the recent concerts at Joe’s in Chicago and the Steppenwolf gala.

Click for larger sizes.

From Joe’s:

There’s more behind the cut!

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Gary will serve as Grand Marshall again this year for the National Memorial Day Parade. The parade takes place on Monday, May 28th in Washington, D.C. Please see the National Memorial Day Parade website for more details.

Gary as Grand Marshall at 2006 Memorial Day Parade

(photo credit to National Memorial Day Parade website)

The Military Officers Association of America recognized Gary Sinise, the DuPont company and six other people for their support of the military, during the association’s 10th annual awards ceremony in Washington, D. C. on Wednesday night. Congratulations to Gary and all the recipients.

Read more about the event in the following articles:

America Supports You - MOAA event

BlackAnthem.com

The GI Film Festival announced that Gary will host a screening of Forrest Gump as part of the festival events this coming Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C. Following the screening, Gary will be guest of honor at a VIP Reception to benefit the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.

According to their website, the GIFF is the first film festival to celebrate and honor the heroic stories of the American Armed Forces in film. They will present films from both established and new filmmakers; some will be fan favorites while others will be screened for the first time.

The festival takes place May 26th-28th at the Ronald Regan International Trade Center, Washington, D.C.

Tickets go on sale April 10th. Please visit the GI Film Festival website for additional information.

There’s a nice column today in the Orange County (California) Register about Gary’s USO work and his unswerving support for serving troops and their families.

American Forces Press Service is reporting that Gary will be honored with the Military Officers Association of America Distinguished Service Award for 2007. The MOAA is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program highlighting the ways Americans and the corporate sector are supporting the nation’s service members. Dupont Corporation will also be honored.

The key elements for an individual to receive the MOAA Distinguished Service Award is selfless service, achievement of results and reflections of credit on the military community.

The awards will be presented in a ceremony on Capitol Hill on April 17.

Read more here.

• The Fort Leavenworth Lamp has an article about Gary’s recent visit and his work with Operation Iraqi Children.
• The USO reports that Gary will be in Hawaii this weekend with the LDB.
• Our co-obsessives friends over at the livejournal community sinise_daily have scans of the recent interview Gary did for Guideposts magazine. (If you have a livejournal, this is a terrific community to watch or join!)

The Lt. Dan Band currently has the following dates scheduled:

• Saturday, March 10: 4th Annual Steppenwolf Celebrity Golf Classic (Indian Wells, CA)
• Friday & Saturday, March 30-31: Fallsview Casino Resort (Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada)
• Saturday, April 28: House of Blues (Cleveland, OH)
• Thursday, May 3: Joe’s Bar (Chicago, IL) - Benefit for United States Vietnam Arts Program
• Saturday, May 5: Steppenwolf Theatre Gala (Chicago, IL)
• Saturday, July 21: Cantigny Park (Wheaton, IL) - details TBA

They are also planning a European USO tour for this summer.

Get out and see the LDB — you won’t be disappointed!