Forrest Gump Actor Identifies With Troops Posted: Jan 24, 2006

Actor Gary Sinise, who played an injured Vietnam veteran in the movie, Forrest Gump, promotes support of troops. "It's an honorable thing to serve your country," he said. "We need those volunteers; we need those defenders."

Sinise says that men and women currently in the service have much more support than during the Vietnam War. He says that it's important to maintain that support because military service is a sacrifice that should not be taken lightly.

On his last trip to Iraq, Sinise accompanied a U.S. military unit that remodeled an Iraqi school. He said that he watched the troops transform what had been a cinder-block, dirt-floor structure into a building with concrete floors, windows and fans.

"It was not much, but to these kids and those Iraqis who had been living there with this school, it seemed like a brand new place," he said. Sinise says that his role in Forrest Gump has helps him identify with troops.

Sinise is currently widely recognized for his role as Detective Mac Taylor on CSI: New York.