If you’ve flipped channels at a hotel or stepped inside of a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. location recently, you might’ve rekindled some memories of the 1994 movie Forrest Gump . If so, you’ll definitely recall that Gary Sinise played disabled veteran Lt. Dan Taylor in the film.
In the years since, however, Sinise had remained dedicated to helping real people who are in a similar situation to his character and he certainly hasn’t forgotten about their families.
So every year, he takes those who have seen the worst parts of military family life on a very special trip.
Back in 2011, Sinise established the Gary Sinise Foundation as a means to provide support for veterans, first responders, and their families whether they’re on active duty or have already served.
According to the foundation’s website , he was inspired to embark on this mission after meeting and assisting in a fundraiser for U.S. Army Specialist Brendan Marrocco.
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Marrocco became a quadruple amputee after a bomb blast in Iraq.
In addition to programs that provide wounded veterans with smart homes and other mobility tech, the foundation also offers a program called the Snowball Express.
This program hosts community-driven events for Gold Star families year-round, but these efforts particularly ramp up during the holidays. Unfortunately, that’s the time where these families iften feel their loss the most.
So last year, the foundation had something very ambitious in mind.
Back in December, 1,750 people flew alongside Sinise to Disney World.
These passengers consisted of at least 1,000 children who had lost a military parent, as well as a surviving family member who each child brought with them.
Sinise arranged for 15 planes to bring them to Orlando, where they would spend a five-day vacation at the happiest place on Earth.
As Sinise told CBS Los Angeles , “Each one of these children who are going on these airplanes have lost a parent in military services – either combat related or illness or unfortunately suicide sometimes. We wanna take care of these kids and make sure they know we don’t forget.”
When these Gold Star family members arrived at the park, they were given “we remember” pins to wear.
They were also invited to an event where each of the soldiers they had lost were honored. This year, 600 of these fallen individuals were named.
For this reason, 600 American flags lined the park to symbolize the reason these visitors were brought together.
Indeed, one of the main goals of this program is to bring those who have felt similar hardships together in as many ways as possible.
Based on reports from the families involved, the program seems to have succeeded in this way.
Jade Penix, who lost her husband in 2016, appreciated how the experience introduced her to people who have gone through what her family has.
As she said, “It’s just important because of all of the bonding that we get to do. [Her son Desmond] gets to find friends who are just like him, and I get to find ones that have lost just like me.”
h/t: CBS Los Angeles
