Gary Sinise brings Internet to veterans

MAYWOOD, Ill., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Wounded veterans at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Maywood, Ill., are about to get access to the Internet, thanks in part to actor Gary Sinise.

Operation Support Our Troops of Illinois will give a check for $15,000 to the hospital to help pay for the veterans access to the Internet, the Chicago-Sun Times reported Friday.

"Hines has traditionally been a facility that treated older veterans," OSOTIL President Deborah Rickert said. "With the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is now an influx of younger vets with different needs."

Rickert said some of the funds were raised during a concert that featured actor Gary Sinise and his group, the Lt. Dan Band, named after his character in the film "Forrest Gump."

The money will be put towards computer wiring in the areas of the hospital where blind patients and those with spinal cord injuries are treated, said Hines spokeswoman Maureen Dyman.