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Band inspired by 'Forrest Gump' character Lt. Dan plays at Kirtland Air Force Base
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For the first time in 20 years, Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band performed at Kirtland Air Force Base for a special show Sunday afternoon.
Sinise — who portrayed Lieutenant Dan from the 1994 film “Forrest Gump” — leads the 15-person band, which has performed over 500 times in the last 20 years, said Col. Michael Power, 377th Air Base Wing and Installation commander, who announced the band to Kirtland.
“It’s just such an honor to have them here at Kirtland Air Force Base,” Power said.
The cover band performs to entertain troops and raise money for disabled veterans. In 2014, the band was partially credited for the building of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, which honors vets who were permanently disabled while serving the country.
The audience filled the hangar at Kirtland Air Force Base, and Lt. Dan Band arrived to the sounds of cheers and claps. The band opened with “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk The Moon. The show also included “Uptown Funk” and “Conga,” during which audience members lined up and created a large conga line.
The band is comprised of a drummer, guitarists, vocalists, a saxophonist and a violinist, who performed dances for audience members to join in while performing.
The performance was part of a mission from the Gary Sinise Foundation, a charity group led by Sinise that provides services like building homes for veterans, performances for enlisted troops and raising money for troops.
Since being founded in 2011, the Gary Sinise Foundation has supported 583 concerts, visited 181 military installations across the country and served over one million meals to troops overseas.
