USO Tour Veteran Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band Visit Troops in Alabama

USO Tour Veteran Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band Visit Troops in Alabama

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Actor, director and producer Gary Sinise will visit troops stationed at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., Sept. 30 on his 12th USO tour. Sinise, together with the Lt. Dan Band, will perform a free show, sign autographs and pose for pictures in an effort to boost the morale of service men and women. Best known for his Oscar-nominated performance as Lt. Dan in "Forrest Gump," Sinise is a strong supporter of the military. Currently, he is starring in the hit series "CSI: New York" on CBS.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031119/USO )

Sinise was among the group of celebrities on the USO's first tour to Baghdad in June 2003. He also has visited troops in Diego Garcia, Singapore, Korea, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Germany, the Netherlands, England and Italy. Sinise also has spent time with troops who are recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center. Over the past year, Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band also have entertained military personnel stationed at several military posts across the United States.

Following a USO tour to Iraq, during which he visited with Iraqi school children, Sinise co-founded Operation Iraqi Children (OIC), which provides educational materials to students in Iraq through the generosity of the American people. Additionally, OIC recently expanded its efforts to provide assistance to the many Americans affected by Hurricane Katrina. As survivors of the disaster are relocated throughout the United States and attempt to restore normalcy to their lives, OIC will work to provide relief where needed. For more information, visit http://www.operationiraqichildren.org/.

Founder of Chicago's influential Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Sinise later starred on Broadway in "The Grapes of Wrath." Performances as title characters in "Truman" (for which he won a Cable Ace Award and a Golden Globe) and "George Wallace" (for which he won an Emmy) earned him the reputation of one of America's most versatile actors. Film credits include "Apollo 13," "The Green Mile" and "The Forgotten."

For more than 64 years, the USO (United Service Organizations) has been providing morale, welfare and recreational services to U.S. military personnel and their families. The USO is a nonprofit, charitable organization, relying on the generosity of the American people to support its programs and services.

The USO is supported by World Partners Anheuser-Busch Companies, AT&T Corporation, Avon Products, Inc., BAE SYSTEMS, Bass Pro Shops, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Clear Channel Communications, The Coca-Cola Company, Computer Systems Center, Inc., Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Military Channel, National Football League, Northwest Airlines, Inc., S&K Sales Company and TriWest Healthcare Alliance. Other corporate donors, including Walgreens and the United Way and Combined Federal Campaign (CFC-0600), have joined thousands of individual donors to support the USO. For more information on the USO, please visit our Web site at http://www.uso.org/

CONTACT: Erica Stone of USO, +1-703-908-6471, estone@uso.org

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031119/USO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: USO

CONTACT: Erica Stone of USO, +1-703-908-6471, estone@uso.org

Web site: http://www.uso.org/ http://www.operationiraqichildren.org/

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