Gary Sinise to Honor Service Members on Variety’s Salute to Service

Gary Sinise to Honor Service Members on Variety’s ‘Salute to Service’

By Cooper Dowd, Staff Writer

Gary Sinise, award-winning actor and founder of the Gary Sinise Foundation, will join an all-star group of celebrities to honor American service members this Veterans Day on the Variety Salute to Service special.

According to Variety, the annual Salute to Service event “celebrates heroes in the military space, from the troops on active duty to veterans who have thrown their lives on the line in service of our country.”

Due to coronavirus, the event will not be taking place in-person. However, Variety and the History Channel will still honor veterans and service members through the televised special on the History channel. The special will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

Sinise established his foundation—which advocates on behalf of veterans, first responders, and their families—in 2011.

“It’s always important to support veterans, there’s always a need regardless of what’s going on in the world,” Sinise said.

The special will feature a host of celebrity presenters, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Trace Adkins, Kevin Bacon, Tamron Hall, Morgan Freeman, and many more.

The special will feature organizations such as Sinise’s foundation, the USO, and the disaster-relief organization Team Rubicon.

As part of the special, Sinise will introduce Army vet Jarrid “Jay” Collins. Collins is a former Green Beret, combat-wounded amputee, and is an INVICTUS and WARRIOR GAMES athlete.

Sinise first met Collins through the Gary Sinise Foundation when they provided the veteran and his family with a specially adapted smart home through its R.I.S.E. (Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment) program.

While Veterans Day only comes once a year, honoring veterans should be part of our lives year round.

“Honoring veterans and highlighting the many ways they contribute to our communities is an effort we pursue all year,” Paul Buccieri, president of A+E Networks, said. “For example, our Mission to Honor campaign is one of our key outreach initiatives because veterans play such important leadership roles in our society, even after they are no longer in uniform.”

Gerry Byrne, a United Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, is the Penske Media Corporation Vice Chairman. Byrne owns the Hollywood trade paper that hosts the annual event.

Byrne concluded: “Words cannot express our gratitude to the veterans for all their sacrifices for our freedom, but this Veterans Day, we strive to honor those fearless men and women. It was crucial to us to keep our annual Salute to Service event going and to pay tribute and recognize those who have given so much to keep our country safe and strong.”