View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gary Sinise Foundation (@garysinisefoundation) on Dec 8, 2018 at 6:40pm PST

You might recognize actor Gary Sinise from movies such as Forest Gump and The Green Mile, but the celebrity has another passion: honoring and helping U.S. military veterans and their families. He founded the Gary Sinise Foundation in 2011, a charity that creates unique programs designed to “entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities.” One of those programs is Snowball Express, a special initiative that provides free trips for children of fallen soldiers.

For the 2018 Snowball Express trip, Sinise generously took over 1,750 kids and their surviving parents to Disney World in Orlando, Florida for a magical, 5-night trip. In partnership with American Airlines, over 14 aircrafts were needed to safely transport the 600+ families who attended the event. “Close to 1,000 American Airlines team members volunteered their time to make this year’s Snowball Express a meaningful event for Gold Star families,” reveals Sinise on Instagram. “At Snowball, participants were able to not only visit Walt Disney World but were also provided with free counseling services, mentoring, education, and entertainment.”

While the deserving kids had plenty of fun, they also had a chance to honor their family members who died during combat. Each child wore a “we remember” pin and 600 flags were lined up to represent each of their lost loved ones. “The most important thing about [Snowball Express] is that these children don’t feel alone,” says Sinise. “There’s a lot of healing and a lot of bonding and a lot of friendship that goes on that helps them through the rest of the year.”

You can find out more about the Snowball Express program on the Gary Sinise Foundation website.

Actor Gary Sinise recently took over 1,750 kids of fallen heroes to Disney World in Orlando, Florida for a magical, 5-night trip.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gary Sinise Foundation (@garysinisefoundation) on Dec 10, 2018 at 3:51pm PST

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gary Sinise Foundation (@garysinisefoundation) on Dec 9, 2018 at 3:16pm PST

The generous actor founded the Gary Sinise Foundation, a charity that creates unique programs designed to help U.S. military veterans and their families.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gary Sinise Foundation (@garysinisefoundation) on Dec 10, 2018 at 6:34am PST

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gary Sinise Foundation (@garysinisefoundation) on Dec 10, 2018 at 6:47pm PST

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gary Sinise Foundation (@garysinisefoundation) on Dec 11, 2018 at 9:27am PST

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gary Sinise Foundation (@garysinisefoundation) on Dec 14, 2018 at 5:58pm PST

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All images via Gary Sinise Foundation.

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