Gary Sinise returns to Wheaton to support troops
Ten years ago, Deborah Rickert wasn't sure her great idea was turning out quite as great as she hoped.
It was the first year Rickert had organized a concert by actor Gary Sinise's Lt. Dan Band to raise money to support her nonprofit organization, Naperville-based Operation Support Our Troops - America. The weather was ominous and, about halfway through, a wet microburst hit the show and literally put a damper on the stage for nearly an hour.
But after the storm lifted, a beautiful double rainbow spread over the venue and Rickert took it as a sign.
"I think at that moment, when we were able to go on with the show, it was sort of an inkling that this was something pretty special," she said. "We knew, yes, there will be challenges. But now we see that the concerts have done so much good."
The Rockin' for the Troops concerts raise money for Operation Support Our Troops, which has sent roughly 2 million pounds of care packages to troops deployed around the world in the past 13 years. Concert proceeds and sponsorships pay for the cost of shipping, which is about $35 per care package. The organization also runs programs to help military members and their families adjust to life both in and out of the military.
This Saturday, July 18, Sinise and his band will return for the 10th time to help the organization once again. Both the actor and Rickert agree that, while they have achieved great strides in supporting veterans, help is still needed more than ever.
"The main thing for people to realize is that it's easy to get sidetracked with all that's going on in the world, but we still have troops deployed," Rickert said.
In an interview with the Daily Herald, Sinise also explored this idea and shared what he has learned in more than a decade of rockin' with the Lt. Dan Band. This is an edited version of that conversation.
Q. You started your Gary Sinise Foundation - which the Lt. Dan Band is part of - to improve the treatment and awareness of our troops. What differences do you see between current veterans and active military and, say, those who served in Vietnam?
A. Progress has been made in this country because we learned some hard lessons regarding how we treated our Vietnam vets. I wanted to make a difference in today's active duty service members and make sure they were treated more respectfully and with more gratitude. Vietnam veterans were treated shamefully and fell through the cracks, and we want to take that hard lesson and learn from it.
I don't expect the government to do it all because it can't do it all. That's why it's a good thing when the American people take up the charge and say we're going to do it ourselves. And that's why you find over 40,000 veterans organizations out there, and I supported many of them and continue to do so now with organizations like Operation Support Our Troops.
But I also knew years back that the next big step was to create my own foundation. I have a long track record of supporting our military, going back to the '80s, and I thought, "Let's capitalize on that." I think people trusted that I would be a reliable person in supporting veterans and I wanted to make the most of that and create a foundation.
Q. What additional support is needed that people might not know about?
A. There's a lot of residual effect after 14 years of war, and our men and women are off the front pages now, aren't they? At the height of the war, there was always something difficult in the headlines. Thankfully they are getting hurt a bit less than six or seven years ago, but there are still a lot of challenges for those who have been injured, families who have lost a service member, those struggling with PTSD, and others who may not know where to turn when they transition.
Some people had been planning on a military career all their lives and now they're getting out and not knowing where to turn.
This past weekend, my foundation had a mentoring retreat where wounded veterans from current conflicts met with wounded military from the Vietnam era. When you've lost your arms and legs, suffered severe burns and brain trauma, you're dealing with ongoing issues. So pairing them with older veterans helps them gain some of the wisdom you learn over time that will help you with those challenges and carry on.
So the goal is always to provide services people need or link them to quality services that are out there. We need to be sure we seek them out and we don't let them fall by the wayside.
The best way to do that is for our good nonprofits to take a proactive role in finding those who need assistance, figure out what they need and how we can best serve them. That's why we go to hospitals, do outreach and let the military community know we're here.
Q. Many families in Wheaton and DuPage County have made your annual concert at Cantigny a tradition over the past decade. Do you think your concerts are popular due to a loyal fan base, or is it always growing?
A. Because the band is part of my foundation, 99 percent of concerts we play have something to do with a military audience. Therefore, a lot of people who come to our shows have a relationship with someone in the military.
But it's also a diverse audience in terms of age and backgrounds, which is why we play cover tunes that everyone in our audience will appreciate. We have contemporary and classic music - rock, pop, blues and country - just to make sure we cover a lot of ground. And I try to put them together in such a way that the show has a lot energy, movement and emotion.
Q. The concert at Cantigny is for the general public. Do you get a different reaction from those audiences vs. the troops you play for around the world?
A. There is different excitement, but I've never seen one of our shows end with a whimper. Sometimes you get a crowd that is more reserved, but by the time we're done, everyone is whipped into a frenzy. I want people to leave with a little bit of a message, but also have a lot of joy in their hearts.
Q. With more than a decade under your belts, is the Lt. Dan Band running its course or do you want to be playing in support of the troops until you just can't stand up anymore?
A. Well, it was November 2003 when we played our first military base right here at Great Lakes Naval Base and we were pretty ragged at that point, pretty much a jam group. The Lt. Dan Band has evolved a lot since then and I can't predict what the future holds, so right now I'm just taking each moment as it comes.
This band is part of my foundation that supports veterans, and we are using it for the same reasons that I started it years ago - just to raise spirits, awareness and funding for our troops. So I'll keep doing it as long as it feels we can make a difference.
If you go
What: Rockin’ for the Troops concert featuring Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band
Why: Proceeds benefit Operation Support Our Troops — America
When: Gates open at noon, Saturday, July 18, and music begins at 1:45 p.m. Sinise performs at 8:45 p.m.
Where: Cantigny Park, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton
Cost: $25
Info: