9-11 Fallen Firefighter's family gives back to Afghanistan triple amputee

Marine Cpl. Juan Dominguez, Triple Amputee Afghanistan War Veteran, Gets New 'Smart Home' On 9/11
Posted: 09/11/2012

Triple Amputee Vets Gets 'Smart Home'
On Oct. 23, 2010, Marine Cpl. Juan Dominguez, 28, lost both legs and his right arm in an explosion while serving in Afghanistan. On 9/11, the husband and father of 9-year-old daughter, Victoria, was granted a specially designed home by the Gary Sinise Foundation and the Stephen Siller Foundation in Temecula, California.

Eleven years after –- to the exact minute –- that New York firefighter Stephen Siller lost his life on September 11, his family found reason to celebrate. They handed over the keys to a brand new home to a veteran who lost three limbs in Afghanistan.

On Oct. 23, 2010, Marine Cpl. Juan Dominguez, 28, slipped down an embankment, landed on a buried bomb, and he lost both legs and his right arm in the explosion, CNN reports. After undergoing numerous surgeries and continuous therapy, the husband and father of 9-year-old daughter, Victoria, was granted his independence by two charities in the form of a specially-designed house in Temecula, California.

Dominguez told KTLA that the new smart home, which was donated by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and the Gary Sinise Foundation, is a “great opportunity.”
read more here

Operation Tyler kicked off by Gary Sinise

Gary Sinise promotes upcoming concert
By MATT EVANS
KBIA

Gary Sinise joined others involved in "Operation Tyler" via Skype at an event Tuesday.

Gary Sinise, also known as Lt. Dan from the movie Forest Gump, will be part of an upcoming benefit concert for veterans. The Lieutenant Dan Band will be playing at Apple Creek Farms on July 27 to raise funds for “Operation Tyler.” It’s a push to put Marine Lance CPL Tyler Huffman, his wife and their two-year-old son into a new, more accessible home.

The 24-year-old Huffman was paralyzed in Afghanistan in 2010 when he was shot by a sniper.
read more here

Gary Sinise foundation building smart house for wounded veteran

Gary Sinise concert to benefit construction of 'smart home' for wounded Whitehall Township veteran
Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2012
By Dustin Schoof
The Express-Times

Express-Times Photo MATT SMITH
U.S. Army Sgt. Adam Keys, of Whitehall Township, who was wounded in Afghanistan in 2010, is greeted by hundreds of community members during a homecoming ceremony back in April.

Adam Keys needs a new home and actor Gary Sinise is helping to build it.

The "Forrest Gump" and "Apollo 13" star and The Lt. Dan Band will perform Aug. 17 at the State Theatre in Easton, organizers announced Tuesday during a news conference at the theater.

Proceeds from the show will go toward the building of a "smart home" for Keys, a U.S. Army sergeant from Whitehall Township who was wounded in 2010 while serving in Afghanistan.

The concert, which will include a performance by tenor Daniel Rodriguez and performance artist Scott LoBaido, is a joint partnership between the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and the Gary Sinise Foundation.
read more here

Gary Sinise played at Fort Carson

Gary Sinise plays show in Parker
May 20, 2012
Written by
Raquel Villanueva

PARKER - Actor Gary Sinise played a benefit concert Sunday at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker.

On Saturday, Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band performed at Fort Carson for the troops and their families.

Sinise says the band doesn't perform to make money, but rather to raise it.

His foundation helps support wounded veterans all over the country.

The band travels the country performing for vets and inspiring others to support them.

"I'm lucky that I've been able to make a living doing something that I've loved since high school, I started acting in high school in my first plays and I was playing in bands in high school and now I get to do them both," he said. "And music is a fun thing and the fact that I can use the music to do something positive for folks is a very good thing."
read more here

Gary Sinise playing Albany show to help build house for disabled vet

Actor-musician Gary Sinise talks about crash and upcoming benefit concert
Actor-musician Gary Sinise playing Albany show to help build house for disabled vet
By Tom Keyser
Wednesday, April 25, 2012

In his first concert tour since being injured March 30 in a car wreck, Gary Sinise and his band will perform Saturday at the Washington Avenue Armory to raise money to build a home for a disabled veteran from Nassau.

A concert tour? Sinise is an actor, not a musician, right? Actually, he is both, and the name of his band encapsulates that — Lt. Dan Band. In the role for which he is best known, Sinise played Lt. Dan Taylor in the Oscar-winning movie "Forrest Gump."

But beyond the acting and performing, Sinise, star of the CBS series "CSI: NY," is a tireless supporter of veterans, first responders and children in ravaged parts of the world. When he was involved in the accident in Washington, D.C., he was on his way to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to spend time visiting veterans, and the next day the Lt. Dan Band was to play in Martinsville, Va., to raise money for a triple-amputee veteran wounded in Afghanistan.
read more here

Quadruple Amputee Soldier, Gets Custom 'Smart Home' From Gary Sinise

Travis Mills, Quadruple Amputee Soldier, Gets Custom 'Smart Home' From Gary Sinise Foundation

04/19/2012
Sergeant Travis Mills’ life changed forever when he lost all four limbs to an Improvised Explosive Device in Afghanistan. But two charities are making sure that his comforts of home remain intact.

While Mills recovers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and the Gary Sinise Foundation are erecting a custom-built home for the wounded warrior, Fox News reports. The oversized rooms and iPad-controlled countertops -- among other amenities –- will give Mills the independence he wouldn’t otherwise have.

"It's a passion," John Hodge, director of operations for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, told the news source. "It just rips your heart out to see these kids -- and they are kids -- who have such promise and have their whole lives ahead of them, and then this happens. We want to make sure they fulfill their promise and their dreams."
read more here

Quadruple amputee soldier recovering at Walter Reed

Posted: Apr 20, 2012
By Erik Horn, WNEM Newsperson
VASSAR, MI (WNEM) -

A young Mid-Michigan soldier is recovering at Walter Reed Hospital from some very extreme wounds.

Staff Sgt. Travis Mills, of Vassar, lost both of his arms and legs when he stepped on an IED while on patrol in Afghanistan.

Mills is believed to be just the fourth quadruple amputee in U.S. Military history to survive his injuries.

Gary Sinise Holds Fundraiser For Injured Marine

Gary Sinise Holds Fundraiser For Injured Marine

Money Raised Will Go To Build Corporal Juan Dominguez A Home
March 2, 2012
TEMECULA, Calif. -- Actor Gary Sinise took on a different role in Temecula Thursday evening.

Sinise, best known for his role as Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, performed with his charity band to help a Camp Pendleton Marine wounded in battle.

Corporal Juan Dominguez lost his right arm and both legs when he stepped on a bomb last year in Afghanistan.
read more here

Injured Marine Helped By Gary Sinise Charity Speaks With 10News

This story has it all but most people are talking about a group of Marines doing something awful in Afghanistan.

This story is about what is possible when someone is helped and given hope, cared about by the Marines he served with and about love.

This is the kind of story that is played out everyday in Afghanistan and happened in Iraq but few ever know about it.

Injured Marine Helped By Actor's Charity Speaks With 10News

Fundraiser Will Be Held March 1; Tickets On Sale At Old Town Temecula Community Theatre

POSTED: 11:19 am PST January 13, 2012
SAN DIEGO -- His left arm and both legs were ripped from his body, his ear drums shattered. He wasn't one of the "lucky" who lose consciousness. Corporal Juan Dominguez remembers it all.

"I woke up with a bad feeling that day, I knew something was going to happen," said Dominguez.

The 27-year-old Marine Corporal was on foot patrol in Sangin, Afghanistan assigned to a battalion from Camp Pendleton. A rifleman on the front line-safeguarding the way for others- when he stepped on a 30 pound improvised explosive device. It threw him 15 feet in the air.

"It was a Saving Private Ryan moment where everything was in slow motion. I saw dirt flying and I saw my legs. It looked like mangled raw meat. I knew at that time I was a double (amputee) but I didn't notice my arm right away. I was screaming for God to take the pain away. I was saying please if you are going to take me, take me now. If you are going to keep me on this earth, please make me numb God," Dominguez said.

Within minutes his fellow Marines found him in a cloud of smoke and they refused to let him die.


"They kept screaming at me saying this was my ticket to go home and see my daughter. They were bawling, these guys were my best friends," according to Dominguez.

read more here

Still in the Fight

Mike Corrado - Still in the Fight (live at Camp Lejeune, NC USO w/Gary Sinise & Lt Dan Band)

Mike Corrado performing "Still in the Fight" a tribute to wounded warriors aboard Camp Lejeune, NC Saturday, September 17. The show was sponsored by the USO and MCCS where Mike opened for Gary Sinise and the Lt Dan Band. The studio version of Still in the Fight is available on iTunes and other major download retailers and proceeds benefit USO Wounded Warrior Family Centers. For more information please visit Mike Corrado.com and Facebook Corradomusic

Gary Sinise honors wounded vets at SC's Lt. Dan Weekend

Sinise honors wounded vets at SC's Lt. Dan Weekend
By BRUCE SMITH, Associated Press
BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) — Ever since playing Lt. Dan — the character in the movie "Forrest Gump" who lost his legs fighting in Vietnam — actor Gary Sinise has devoted time and treasure to helping the nation's military personnel and first responders.

This week he returned to South Carolina's Lowcountry, where much of the 1994 film was shot, for the second annual Lt. Dan Weekend, a gathering of military personnel and vets who were severely wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Volunteers raise donations so the vets have a chance to get away. Sinise's Lt. Dan Band scheduled a benefit concert on the Beaufort waterfront Friday night.

"We have a lot of folks who are banged up out there and need our help," said Sinise, the star of "CSI-New York," during a Thursday reception for the 65 wounded personnel, their caregivers and families attending the four-day weekend. "I always remember this great Calvin Coolidge quote that the nation that forgets its heroes will itself be forgotten."

The cover band, formed in 2004, plays about 40 shows a year, most of them for charity and many for military personnel and veterans. Sinise has also formed a foundation to support the military and first responders.

The idea of the Lt. Dan Weekend came from Steve "Luker" Danyluk, who in 2007 founded the Independence Fund which provides support for those who suffered severe wounds in the war on terror.
read more here

Gary Sinise and the Lieutenant Dan Band playing at Fort Campbell

USO and MWR Present Gary Sinise and the Lieutenant Dan Band
August 16, 2011

Fort Campbell, KY – Get ready for a rockin’ good time on August 27th as the USO and MWR present Gary Sinise and the Lieutenant Dan Band in concert. Inspired by his role in the 1994 film Forrest Gump, Sinise has partnered with the USO to travel all over the world to perform free concerts for Service Members and their Families.

The Lieutenant Dan Band covers music from well-known artists including Bruce Springsteen, Linkin Park, Aretha Franklin and Jimi Hendrix. Providing a diverse selection of music, The Lieutenant Dan Band is sure to be a crowd pleaser offering something for everyone. The concert will be held at the Division Parade Field beginning at 7:00pm.
Gary Sinise and the Lieutenant Dan Band

Gary Sinise working hard for veterans

Lt. Dan Band
Gary Sinise – who co–founded the legendary Steppenwolf Theatre Company in the late 1970s and has enjoyed a successful career on stage, on television and in film – will be in Chicago tonight to perform with his Lt. Dan Band at Joe's Bar to benefit The Veterans Arts Program.

Gary Sinise heads home to Chicago to rock for veterans group
By Tom Lounges Times Correspondent

The tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, deeply affected Gary Sinise and inspired him to become a champion of veterans groups and events.

Sinise – who co–founded the legendary Steppenwolf Theatre Company in the late 1970s and has enjoyed a successful career on stage, on television and in film – will be in Chicago tonight to perform with his Lt. Dan Band at Joe's Bar to benefit The Veterans Arts Program.

Blue Island–born and raised actor/director/musician Gary Sinise said

The Chicago–based organization was co–founded by Kimo Williams, Sinise's musical partner in the Lt. Dan Band.

Sinise, a Blue Island–born and raised actor/director/musician, said it started out as "sort of a culture exchange program," but has since shifted to providing "artist tools" to injured veterans who want to move on in their lives and learn something in the arts, be it playing guitar, or taking up photography, or painting. The Veteran's Arts Program provides instruments and lessons to help enrich the lives of those who served their nation.

Sinise met Williams – a Vietnam veteran and professor at Columbia College – when both were part of Steppenwolf's 1997 production of "A Streetcar Named Desire." Sinise was acting and Williams was composing music for it.
read more here
Gary Sinise heads home to Chicago

Gary Sinise Commentary: We can't do enough for our veterans

Commentary: We can't do enough for our veterans
Story Highlights
Gary Sinise: I agreed to help produce a film made by man with two brothers in military

He says "Brothers at War" shows side of military rarely seen

Sinise: We can't do enough to honor military for sacrifices on our behalf

By Gary Sinise
Special to CNN

Editor's note: Actor and director Gary Sinise has appeared on film in "Forrest Gump," "Truman" and "Apollo 13" and on television in "CSI: NY." He co-founded the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago.


Actor Gary Sinise says we can't do enough for veterans who sacrifice to protect America.

(CNN) -- A while back, a friend of mine suggested that I take a look at a film that a buddy of his had made about his two brothers serving in Iraq.

Having spent some time there myself, I was eager to see it. Once I did, I wanted to do all I could to help the filmmakers find a distributor and get this wonderful film into the theaters.

I was honored to be asked to come on board as executive producer of the film, "Brothers at War," an honest and inside look at our military service members. It's told through the point of view of one brother who is in search of answers as to why his two younger brothers are serving in Iraq and what they and their families are doing during these long deployments.

I got involved with the film "Brothers at War" because I believe it shows a side of our military that is rarely seen. The call to duty that many of our military members share is depicted in the film through Isaac and Joe Rademacher.
go here for the rest
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/21/sinise.military/index.html

Gary Sinise in Public Service Ad for VA Suicide Prevention

VA To Test Suicide Public Service Ads
The VA Is Stepping Up It's Suicide Prevention Outreach With A Public Service Announcement Featuring Actor Gary Sinise.

July 14, 2008
CBS) CBS News Investigative producer Pia Malbran wrote this story for CBSNews.com.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

July 15 Update: During a Congressional hearing today on Capitol Hill, the Department of Veterans Affairs unveiled a new suicide prevention PSA. CBS News has obtained a copy of the clip. Click on the video box to the left to watch it. Rep. Harry Mitchell said that the VA’s “self-imposed ban against television advertising” that has been in place until recently was “outdated and out of touch.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is expected to launch a suicide prevention public service campaign in Washington, DC next week as part of a three-month pilot program.

CBS News has learned that the VA will roll out the campaign on July 21 which will include a series of bus advertisements as well as more than 300 ads inside DC commuter trains and at metro train stations.

The agency has also produced a television public service announcement featuring actor Gary Sinise who portrayed a disabled veteran in the 1994 movie “Forrest Gump”. A spokesperson for Sinise confirmed his participation.

The pilot program is intended to raise awareness of suicide prevention and spread the word about the VA’s 24-hour suicide prevention hotline. CBS News has learned the ads will show a silhouette of a soldier kneeling in front of an American flag with the message: “it takes the courage and strength of a warrior to ask for help. If you or someone you know is in an emotional crisis call 1-800-273-TALK.”
click post title for more
linked from VAWatchdog.org

Gary Sinise has done a lot for veterans. It's great to see him doing this. The ad is short but gets right to the point. Pray it works to help the wounded reach out for help and pray they are there to answer the phone.

Brothers at War film profiled in DAV Magazine

Actor Gary Sinise shares a laugh with DAV Past National Commander Jim Sursely before the screening of “Brothers at War” at the second annual GI Film Festival in Washington, D.C.

Film Festival Honors DAV
By Rob Lewis

The DAV and the veterans it serves
were among those honored at the
second annual GI Film Festival held at
the Carnegie Institute in Washington,
D.C. from May 14-18.
The GI Film Festival is the first in
the nation dedicated solely to celebrating
the success and sacrifices of the
American military through the medium
of film. Guests this year included
Gary Sinise, Robert Duvall, Dale Dye,
Stephen Baldwin and
WWE legend Ric Flair.
At the festival, Past National Commander
Jim Sursely had the honor of
introducing Gary Sinise to a packed
house before the screening of the documentary
film “Brothers at War.”

Just to let you know how much Jim enjoys his life here's a picture of him on one of his famous hunting trips and yes, in his wheel chair, along with Dennis Joyner, also a triple amputee.


But they were joined by others welcomed by the National Guard at Camp Ripley.


You can read more of these stories online by clicking post title for link to magazine.