Once upon a time, even celebrities served in the armed forces! Probably the most celebrated (besides Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart) was Elvis Presley. When he got his military haircut it made the front pages! However, Memorial Day is not to be taken lightly – we do appreciate every soldier who helped this country remain free. It’s a good day to watch American Sniper again
Anytime we can publish a photo of Wiseguy heartthrob Ken Wahl we jump at the chance! And this time it’s for a patriotic reason and not just our own satisfaction. You may remember, a painful back injury forced Ken to retire from acting and he credits a pet kitten for pulling him out of a long term depression. Ken is actively involved in pairing up veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder with pets. Many damaged veterans end up suicidal and Ken feels that pairing them with rescued service animals can save and repair lives. He’s become an official spokesperson for the cause and we’re happy to present his point of view on Memorial Day!
Frankly, we were surprised when the Disabled Veterans Alliance chose to honor Gene Simmons with a Patriotism Award for his support of our troops. Gene was born in Israel and never served in the armed forces. But he adamantly claims that Hollywood is shamefully neglectful about supporting our troops. Gene makes a point of visiting military hospitals and organizing charity events to raise money for veterans. He was touched to the point of tears when he accepted the award. (Above, Shannon, Gene and daughter Sophie, 21)
Photo Credit: Pacific Coast News
#garysinise #janetcharlton
Today actor Gary Sinise became a hero in our eyes. We learned about his fund-raising work for “Building Homes For Heroes.” Now here’s a cause that really MEANS something. They build customized “smart homes” for severely wounded veterans – particularly multiple amputees. They just handed the keys to a new house in Temecula to Afghanistan veteran Cpl. Juan Dominguez, a triple amputee. The organization aims to build a home for EVERY multiple amputee veteran so they can resume their lives. He comes from a military family and after Gary played a veteran who lost both legs in “Forrest Gump”, he got involved with veterans causes. This particular cause (they’ve completed almost 20 homes) is so genuine and heart-wrenching that we have to admire Gary and we urge you to think about contributing.