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Playing the role of wounded Vietnam veteran Lt. Dan Taylor in the movie “Forrest Gump” forever changed my life.
A month after the movie’s release in 1994, the Disabled American Veterans presented me with the National Commanders Award at their annual convention.
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My portrayal of a proud soldier who lost both legs in battle had resonated in ways I could never have imagined. We had presented an honest, unflinching look at the demons our returning veterans had largely faced alone. Lt. Dan wrestled with bitterness, alcoholism, poverty and a descent into living in the shadows. But, with the support of his battle buddy, Forrest Gump, he also found redemption and emerged as a man intent on creating a good life for himself. He became the hero of his own story.
I accepted the award on stage, in front of a crowd of over 2,000 wounded veterans.
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As I wrote in the opening chapter of my book, Grateful American, “…I make my way to the stage, clear my throat, and choke out a few words. 'I'm not prepared for the emotion I feel right now,' I say spontaneously, and I pause again. Looking out at the audience, I realize why they were applauding. Lieutenant Dan has somehow become more than just a character in a movie. To these veterans he has become a symbol of our country’s collective awareness of all our injured veterans, especially the Vietnam veteran.”
It was a profoundly humbling moment to be in the presence of so many real-life Lt. Dans.
That award now hangs on the walls of the Gary Sinise Foundation, which was established in 2011, a direct result of the overwhelming reaction to my Lt. Dan role and what would come later, after the attack on our country on Sept. 11, 2001. I still get recognized as Lt. Dan, and it has been an honor to embrace that fact as a special part of my life.
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