First leg of Lt. Dan Band tour: Barksdale

Photo By Staff Sgt. Stuart Bright | Gary Sinise, the Lt. Dan Band electric bass player, signs an autograph for a member of Team Barksdale at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. March 3, 2017. Sinise played the character Lt. Dan in the movie “Forrest Gump”. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Stuart Bright)  

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, LA, UNITED STATES

03.06.2017

Story by Airman 1st Class Stuart Bright 

2nd Bomb Wing

Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band performed a concert at Barksdale Air Force Base on March 3, 2017.
The Lt. Dan Band, named after Sinise’s character in the movie “Forrest Gump,” travels to military installations to raise morale for service members and their families.
“We do whatever we can to make sure you know you are appreciated,” said Sinise onstage during the concert. “We can’t do it without you. You are our defenders and we appreciate everything you do for us.”
Since 2004, the Lt. Dan Band has performed hundreds of shows for service members all over the world. This was the first time the Lt. Dan Band performed at Barksdale.
In 2011, the Gary Sinise Foundation was established to help support service members, veterans, first responders and their families. Soaring Valor is one of the programs of the foundation provides. This program sends World War 2 veterans to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans and records the veterans’ stories so they can be preserved.
“This man is an American hero,” said Lt. Col. Steven Smith, 93rd Bomb Squadron Flight Instructor. “He is a saint.”
The Lt. Dan Band will perform next at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

• Date Taken: 03.06.2017
• Date Posted: 03.06.2017 18:12
• Story ID: 225914
• Location: BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, LA, US