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Gary Sinise Flies 45 WWII Veterans To New Orleans To Document Their Service Stories

By Dionne Charlet
Published on: 04:23 PST, Jun 25, 2015

Gary Sinise boarded a Pacific Coachways charter jet with 45 World War II Veterans on Wednesday. The actor tweeted about the departure as he took a photo standing in the aisle in between the seated rows of heroes.

The Gary Sinise Foundation provided transportation for the men on Wednesday from California to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans as part of a joint project with the museum entitled Soaring Valor.

On the foundation’s website, the actor, famed for portraying Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, compliments the museum during a video interview and laments that so many veterans will not get to see it. To remedy that, he had his foundation set Wednesday’s trip in place.

“We’ve offered to fund a historian,” shared Sinise. “We’ve offered to bring these people to New Orleans.”

Pacific Coachways representatives posted the following sentiment about their part in the event.

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport welcomed the plane with a water cannon salute, per WWL TV News Channel 4. Next, all members of the group were each individually welcomed with Mardi Gras beads placed on their necks as Jazz musicians serenaded them.

The veterans assembled for photo ops. Many of these lauded service men were in wheelchairs.

On Thursday, a crowd was waiting outside the entrance to the National WWII Museum to welcome Sinise’s guests when they arrived.

The tour itself began on Thursday, with the veterans enjoying a dinner at the WWII Museum the evening before.

The goal of the Soaring Valor project is to have the personal stories of WWII veterans recorded for future generations. In a video discussion with Dr. Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller, President and CEO of The National WWII Museum, Sinise emphasised the importance of veterans sharing their stories.

Mueller referred to each WWII veteran as a “living libary.”

Gary revealed to Mueller that he began the foundation to spread messages and education to younger generations about the importance of service and our defenders. He commended Mueller and the National WWII Museum for “preserving” the stories of men who “saved the world from tyranny in the 1940s.”

Sinise continued, “We’re trying to spread that message of the importance of service and sacrifice and the importance of defending this nation, and what it takes to defend this nation.”

He emphasized how critical it is to preserve these stories.

Mueller agreed, stating, “Every time one of these veterans leaves us, a library burns.”

Concerning the trip, Sinise told WWL News Channel 4 in New Orleans that he made all this possible in honor of two of his uncles, Jerry, who served in the Navy, and Jack, a B-17 bomber navigator.

“We can never do enough for our veterans… Obviously some of these folks aren’t going to be around very long, and we want to do everything we can for them.”

Gary Sinise never served in the military himself, though he actively commits to servicemen through his foundation, through his Lt. Dan Band, and with two decades of support to DAV (Disabled American Veterans), per a 2013 Inquisitr article on Sinise.

[Photo by Vince Bucci / Getty Images]

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