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Gary Sinise In Minneapolis To Raise Money For Vet

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Academy Award-nominated actor Gary Sinise is headed to Minneapolis this weekend to help a local wounded veteran raise money to build a new home.

Sinise is best known for playing Lieutenant Dan in "Forrest Gump." The role of the title character's disabled Vietnam veteran friend earned Sinise an Oscar nomination in 1994.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Sinise started visiting troops overseas and brought his Lt. Dan band along.

That eventually evolved into his foundation, which raises money for military support charities.

Sinise is in the Twin Cities to help Corporal Mark Litynski, who lost both of his legs and an arm in an IED blast when he was 23 years old.

"We want to do everything we can to make sure he and his wife Heather have the specially-designed home so they can have a happy life," Sinise said. "Obviously if you lose both your legs and an arm you're going to have some special challenges."

The home will be a "smart home" that will have lots of automatic features to help Litynski live more independently.

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