How This YELLOWSTONE Star Gave Back on Veterans Day
Movieguide® Contributor
This past Veterans Day, YELLOWSTONE’s Cole Hauser, who’s maybe better known by his character “Rip Wheeler,” commemorated the holiday by giving back to veterans and their families.
“I mean, it’s a date, obviously, to remember and a date to acknowledge some of the brave people of this country throughout our history,” the actor said of Veterans Day. “So, we’re going to continue to do that. We got some great stuff in store.”
“I’ll be, I think in New York at this point, which I’m excited about, with Tunnel to Towers,” he said. Obviously, I’m on the board of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. So we’re going to do some good stuff there and we’re just going to continue to spread the good word.”
Tunnel to Towers, a foundation that raises money for veterans and their families, is presenting a TV special, HOMES FOR THE HOLIDAYS, from Nov. 28 through New Year’s. Hauser will star in the special along with Ashley McBryde, Travis Tritt, Bret Michaels, Ian Munsick, Robert Randolph and country band Runaway Jane. The celebrities will give away free houses to Fallen First Responder and Gold Star families.
“A trip to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where Hauser met returning veterans who had lost limbs or were facing other hardships, led the actor to begin wondering how to help them understand ‘life isn’t over’ and to ‘help them see the light,’” Fox wrote about Hauser.
The actor was 26 when he first visited the center and quickly became friends with one of the patients there.
“I walked into the room and for whatever reason, as screwed up as he was, he had a sense of humor,” he said. “And so, over the next four days, I kept going back and became very close to him. And we joked a lot. In fact, I got him out of Walter Reed. He was a double amputee.”
“And about three months after I got him out of it, Walter Reed, and tried to help with not only his education, but also a place to stay, he ended up taking his own life. I think that just absolutely changed my feeling[s]. I can’t allow this to happen on my watch anymore,” he said. “There has to be people like me who are or are doing these things to raise awareness. And so that really affected me.”
Hauser came on the board of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation after he took a trip to Afghanistan and met special op soldiers. Later, he met SOWF’s president, who shared about what wounded soldiers go through and families’ experiences after their loved one passes away.
Then Hauser asked, “’How can I become involved?’” and now, “As a member of the board of directors, my hope is to actively contribute in a heartfelt manner, utilizing my network and the television and film mediums I am fortunate to be part of.”
READ MORE: YELLOWSTONE STAR COLE HAUSER SHARES TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE
