Veterans at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital in Illinois received a Fourth of July surprise as we hosted a very special Serving Heroes event. Wanting to show his gratitude to the brave men and women who fought for our country, Gary Sinise visited the hospital to serve meals to these local heroes. This special event also marked the ONE-MILLIONTH MEAL the Foundation has provided to our nation’s heroes through our Serving Heroes initiative, and Gary personally served it.

"Looking in the eyes of our veterans, I just see freedom and independence. I see sacrifice and, not being a veteran myself but somebody who benefits from the freedom that they provide, I want to do something about it to make sure they know they're appreciated," said Gary. "There's no way we could ever do enough to celebrate and support our veterans, but we could continue to try to find other ways to show our support and do a little more."

Fox 19 in Cincinnati spoke with Gary at the event during a special "A Salute to Heroes" report to discuss how the role of Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump led to Gary's path from self to service, the formation of GSF, and Gary's lifelong mission to serve our nation's heroes.

Enjoy photos from the event below, and CLICK HERE to watch the full story.