Gary Sinise is not only a wonderful actor but also a wonderful person. He is known for the work he does with veterans. This is yet another story about how he changed a veteran’s life without expecting anything in return.
Keep reading to know what he did…
Bill Day was struggling with his expenses which included paying off a loan he had taken out for his home. He had a loan of $168,000 he owed to Veterans United Home Loans.
After servicemen become veterans, at times, they find themselves struggling. While the government is working on providing them with better care, it is still tough for veterans to make ends meet once they leave their service. A lot of times, nonprofits, other veterans, and regular Americans are the ones helping veterans get by.
The company provides veterans with loans and prides itself on how they treat their customers. For the surprise, they asked Day to participate in a commercial for the organization for Veterans Day.
He happily agreed to do so. When he joined the online meeting, he was shocked to be face-to-face with Gary Sinise. While Sinise himself is not a veteran, he famously played the role of Lt. Dan in the movie “Forest Gump.” The actor has worked with veterans for years.
Day, who works as a New York State information technology specialist joined the Navy in 1988 and was on active duty until 1991. After that he joined the Navy Reserves. He served in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm and in Mexico and Central America, where he assisted the Coast Guard in drug busts and other missions.
In 1996, he was honorably discharged as a signalman, third class. He bought his first home in 2018 with the help of the GI Bill, which gives military personnel and veterans a break on mortgage rates and fees.
However, the payments were still a lot for a father of four. One of his children is also severely autistic and hence has special needs that require both time and resources.
And Veterans United Home Loans wanted to ease the burden for Sinise even more and hence decided to forgive the $168,000. When he came face to face with Sinise, he was shocked. He said, “Gary! Holy crap! How ya doing!”
Meeting Sinise was not the only surprise for Day in that meeting, he was also told by Sinise that his entire loan was paid off. The veteran was in disbelief; his entire face fell. He pointed to himself in shock and asked Sinise, “Me?” which made the actor laugh.
“No, I don’t deserve that,” he said. Sinise immediately rebutted the thought and told him he very much did deserve it.
“Oh my God! No way,” said Day tearing up. He explained to Sinise that he had an autistic son and how much having extra income now would help him provide his son with better resources.
There were ten other veterans who had their mortgages paid off. Day said, “there are people who didn’t come home, who got hurt,” he said. “I have to find a way to pay this back,” he swore.
He shared that he would make a donation to the Gary Sinise Foundation, which helps veterans as well. He also hoped to buy property that he could fix up and rent to veterans.
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It is so joyous to see people get rewarded in life. This is a wonderful story, and it sure does warm your heart! Share this with others so they can also enjoy this sweet story.
