“Lt. Dan” Changed How Some See Vietnam Vets

“Lt. Dan” Changed How Some See Vietnam Vets
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
Aug 19, 2013

Twenty years ago next month a Hollywood production was just getting underway that would show moviegoers something they rarely saw until – and for the most part since – then.

The production was “Forest Gump” and the something was a severely wounded, disabled Vietnam veteran who came home from the war and put his life back together. For members of the Disabled American Veterans, the film vet portrayed by actor Gary Sinise was such a breath of fresh air that they quickly invited him to their national convention to give him an award.

“I went there and it was very moving. I was very moved by it and the whole experience of seeing so many disabled veterans,” Sinise told Military.com during an interview Aug. 11 in Orlando, Fla., where the star of the TV series"CSI: New York" was preparing his band to play before up to 4,000 vets and family members. “I think [“Forest Gump”] was the first time that a Vietnam veteran could be portrayed as somebody who could overcome his injury and become successful.”

Sinise’s role as Lt. Dan Taylor netted him more than a dinner invitation and award from the DAV. That experience made his an advocate for veterans and their families. Years later, with the U.S. engaged in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Sinise assembled the “Lt. Dan Band” and have been bringing attention to and raising money for veterans causes ever since; in addition the band has toured the combat theater, bringing its pop, rock, country and – yes – even swing sounds to active duty troops.

“We play for young kids, family members of deployed service people, and families of wounded warriors, and we play veterans organizations – and the DAV has all [ages] of veterans,” he said, “so when we come in ... we even throw in a couple of swing tunes from the ‘40s.”

He also established the Gary Sinise Foundation, of which the band is one part. The group also partners with other organizations and charities to support veterans and their families. He is also the spokesman for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, which is slated to open next year near the U.S. Capitol.

But at the time the DAV honored him, Sinise was not knowledge about what the organization did, and had not thought much about how Vietnam veterans were perceived or portrayed in film.
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LT. Dan Band played for the DAV Convention in Orlando last weekend. Fabulous! I filmed them and they are over of the side bar.