It won’t be long until there’s simply no more World War II vets around. We should heed their words while they are.
And one of the last World War II veterans in the world has this critical message for all of us to hear.
Almost everyone agrees that the greatest generation in American history belongs to the generation that fought for America during the Second World War.
Young men stepped up to defend our great nation in droves and young women did their part at home to support the men in the war.
That generation pulled our country through one of the darkest times in world history and we continue to commend them and honor them to this day.
Organizations over the past couple decades have been focused on keeping records on as much as we can before all the World War II vets have passed.
One such organization is the “Gary Sinise Foundation” founded by the actor Gary Sinise, known for his role in the popular film “Forest Gump”.
The website for his foundation says that their mission is to “serve our nation by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need.”
According to the site, they have served over 920,000 meals to our nation’s defenders and offered more than 428 emergency relief grants.
Needless to say, honoring our veterans and first responders is a passion for Gary Sinise.
Sinise recently opened up about the opportunity he had to meet and talk with a World War II veteran about six years ago on the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941.
He said that when he thanked the man for his service to our country, the honorable veteran had a stunning seven word response that has stuck with him to this day.
“I reached down to him, and I grabbed his hand, and I said, ‘Thank you, sir, for all you have done for our country,'” Sinise said to Newsmax in an interview.
“And he looked up at me with tears in his eyes and he just goes, ‘I wish I could have done more.'”
It would be understandable for any veteran to feel like they did enough and played their part to service their country the way they did in the 1940s.
But this unnamed vet wasn’t content. He wished he could have done more for America, even in his older age.
Sinise said that we could learn a thing or two from the deep respect that so many veterans from the Second World War had for America in service to their country.
His foundation also supports families in need today and puts on a number of events to benefit veterans and their families.
Their biggest event is the “Snowball Express” at Walt Disney World in Florida where he serves the children of fallen veterans. They’ve served nearly 13,000 children just since the year 2018.
“This year we actually upped the number of families from 700 to 800 families, and 1,151 children,” he said.
“We had over 1,000 hotel rooms. We have volunteers, multiple volunteers, that support this event and have for many years… It’s our way of wrapping our arms around these children who have lost a parent in military service.”
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
