MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. – In a year when the Mackinac Policy Conference is centered on “The Quest for Common Ground,” actor and philanthropist Gary Sinise told Michigan’s political, business, and civic leaders that service, gratitude, and sacrifice may be among the few forces still capable of uniting Americans.
During a live, moderated conversation on Wednesday (May 27) at the Grand Hotel, Sinise reflected on decades of supporting veterans, first responders, and military families through the Gary Sinise Foundation, and on why helping others in times of hardship can heal both communities and individuals.
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“We can never do enough for them,” Sinise said. “And that’s what I say at the Gary Sinise Foundation all the time, is that we can never do enough, but we can always try to do a little more.”
Throughout the discussion, Sinise repeatedly returned to the idea that Americans may disagree politically but still share a common responsibility to support those who defend and protect the country.
“We’re all Americans,” Sinise said. “We have our beliefs, and we have our different differences of opinions. But when it hits the fan, who’s going to go out there and defend us? And it’s the men and women in uniform.”
Sinise said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks became a turning point in his life and pushed him toward a deeper level of public service.
“I was crushed,” Sinise said. “We all felt scared. Our hearts were broken.”
He recalled watching the attacks and the heroism of first responders unfold on television.
“The images from the day of watching television, people jumping out of buildings and the first responders running in and getting killed, those images were heartbreaking and devastating,” he said.
Sinise said the trauma of Sept. 11 motivated him to take action instead of retreating into fear.
“When my heart was broken on Sept. 11, 2001, to heal that broken heart, I just started working harder and harder to do something to help,” Sinise said.
That sense of purpose eventually led to the expansion of his support work with troops overseas and the creation of the Gary Sinise Foundation, which has now raised more than $600 million for veterans, first responders, and military families.
The Emmy-winning actor also reflected on how his role as Lt. Dan Taylor in the 1994 film Forrest Gump unexpectedly became a bridge connecting him to veterans across the country.
“It would have been very, very hard to predict that one, it was going to be a big hit, which it was, but two, that it would lead to a level of service for me and a personal investment in service that I had never thought about before,” Sinise said.
Sinise said veterans connected deeply with Lt. Dan because the character ultimately found healing and hope after war.
“We hadn’t seen a Vietnam veteran be okay,” Sinise said. “Lieutenant Dan goes in the shrimp business and invests in Apple, and he has a happy ending. That’s what we want for everybody who serves our country. We want that happy ending for all of them.”
The conversation turned emotional when Sinise discussed the death of his son, Mac Sinise, who died after battling a rare cancer known as chordoma.
Sinise described watching his son continue creating music through years of painful treatment and physical decline.
“In watching him, the name of the book that’s coming out in November is called Graceful Warrior, and that’s what he was to me,” Sinise said. “Watching him fight in the way he fought was so courageous and so graceful and so selfless.”
Sinise said continuing to serve others during his family’s struggles helped him personally navigate grief and hardship.
“My wife’s got cancer, my dad had a stroke, my son’s got cancer, and my mother’s broken,” Sinise said. “I didn’t stop doing it. And it helped me through the family issues just to be able to go out and reach out to somebody I didn’t know and help them through a difficult time.”
As conference attendees searched for answers to political polarization and growing division in the country, Sinise argued that service and volunteerism remain powerful ways to reconnect people.
“It’s a win-win,” Sinise said. “When you help somebody who’s broken, and you can see the difference that you make in their lives, it lifts you up, it raises you up in the most beautiful way.”
Sinise also rejected the idea of entering politics despite years of encouragement from supporters.
“They argue too much there,” Sinise joked about Congress. “I think I’m a private sector guy. I think I can get a lot more done just doing things the way I’m doing it.”
By the end of the discussion, Sinise’s message closely mirrored the conference’s broader theme: that common ground is often found not through politics, but through shared sacrifice, compassion, and purpose.
“The men and women who serve our country deserve all our support, all our appreciation, all our gratitude,” Sinise said. “We need them.”