Gary Sinise Raised $1.3 Million for Vets By Auctioning Off His Jeep…Twice!

Gary Sinise is a gift to humanity. Along with being a great American actor (hello  Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump and Ken Mattingly in Apollo 13), Gary Sinise plays in the Lt. Dan Band at USO shows and supports veterans with the Gary Sinise Foundation. And most recently he helped raise over $1.3 Million dollars for veterans and first responders. Gary, you are a rockstar.

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Actor Gary Sinise recently donated a 1981 Jeep CJ7 to the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, sending all of the proceeds to first responders and military members. But this isn’t any ordinary jeep. No, this is a one-of-a-kind vehicle customized by Richard Rawling’s Gas Monkey Garage and includes a patriotic stars and stripes theme.

The custom jeep sold at the car auction for a whopping $200k. Sunbelt Rentals stepped in to donate an extra 1 million to the cause. But wait, it gets better.

The buyer sent it across the block for a second time, selling it again for $100k, bringing up the grand total to 1.3 million. Sinise added in private dinner with him in Los Angeles and a visit to the Gary Sinise Foundation.

Gary was more than enthusiastic at the willingness of donators. “My first car auction, it’s going to be hard to top that,” Sinise told The Arizona Republic. “There were a lot of veterans out there in the audience so I got to acknowledge them and say thank you.”

Sinise has been helping out veterans and active military families since his role in Forrest Gump. He visited wounded veterans at hospitals and in 2011 and created the Gary Sinise Foundation.

“When our veterans came home from the Vietnam War, they were not treated well and had to disappear into the shadows,” Sinise said. “When we started deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan, I wanted to do my part to make sure the men and women doing their part were appreciated.”

His book “Grateful American,” follows his journey into full-time service for active-duty military and veterans.

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Editors note: This post was originally published on January 21, 2019. 

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