Tennessee
Gary Sinise celebrates Thanksgiving with the Tennessee National Guard
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Actor Gary Sinise spent part of his Thanksgiving week serving meals to troops in Tennessee.
The ‘Forrest Gump’ actor’s foundation provided a Thanksgiving lunch from Mission BBQ to guardsmen at the Tennessee National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters in Nashville on Monday. Sinise himself was on hand to serve up the barbeque in person.
Tennessee Serves, an initiative of first lady Maria Lee’s, also pitched in for Monday’s holiday event.
Tennessee Serves partners with the Gary Sinise Foundation to provide Mission BBQ to troops at Joint Force Headquarters, Nashville, Tennessee, Nov. 25, 2024. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Olivia Gum)
The Tennessee National Guard celebrated 250 years of service earlier this year. It was back in 1774 – before Tennessee was even a state – when the royal governor of Virginia sought to defend his state’s frontier from raids by Native Americans.
That’s when Capt. Evan Shelby mobilized a volunteer militia in the Watauga settlement – territory that eventually became part of the “Volunteer State.”
Governor Bill Lee, his wife Maria, and Gary Sinise thank the Tennessee National Guard. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Pfc. Landon Evans)
What is the Gary Sinise Foundation?
The actor’s outreach to veterans is well documented. He founded the Gary Sinise Foundation in 2010 in an effort to improve the lives of the country’s servicemembers.
The foundation donates everything from meals to suits to vacations and even new homes – all for free – to veterans and first responders around the country. And his “Lt. Dan Band,” named for his famous Forrest Gump character, performs at military installations across the country.