The Incredible Gary Sinise Just Raised $1.3 Million for Vets by Auctioning a Jeep -- Twice!
No, Gary Sinise didn’t get to be Time’s “Person of the Year,” despite a viral push. However, for those of you keeping track, he’s still busy demonstrating why he should have been.
According to Fox News, the actor — best known for playing Lt. Dan Taylor in “Forrest Gump” and for his work with veterans groups — raised $1.3 million for his Gary Sinise Foundation by helping auction off a custom Jeep that actually managed to sell twice.
The 1981 Jeep CJ7 went on the block on Friday at the Barrett-Jackson auto auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, with the proceeds slated to help military members and first responders.
The vehicle wasn’t your ordinary Jeep, however. It had been prepared by Richard Rawling’s Gas Monkey Garage and had a special stars-and-stripes theme, in addition to a few other modifications.
Gary Sinise on stage as the Monkey Garage build 1981 Jeep CJ7 Custom sells twice for a total of $310,000 + a separate donation of $1,000,000 was added. All proceeds going to the Gary Sinise Veteran Foundation. pic.twitter.com/U73femMCWX
— eClassicAutos (@eclassicautos) January 19, 2019
“The Gary Sinise Foundation Jeep was completely restored and given a custom paint job that included the foundation’s logo and specialized coins. It was personally designed by Rawlings to honor each branch of the military,” ClassicCars.com reported.
“The original 4.2-liter engine was rebuilt and paired with a newly built BorgWarner T150 3-speed manual transmission. The CJ7 is also equipped with power steering and brakes. The interior includes one-off gauges that feature the foundation’s logo.”
@adamcarolla @GarySinise’ jeep brought $300k very cool! pic.twitter.com/3h85nbmGF3
— Eric W Jackson (@gason) January 20, 2019
The paint scheme was based on of the 1976 Super Jeep — a rare, patriotic bicentennial version of the legendary off-road vehicle of which only 17 were made.
“We kind of built our twist on the CJ7 Super Jeep and we put some Gas Monkey style into it,” Rawlings said.
And why a Jeep? Because of its military background, of course.
“To me, Jeep means freedom,” Rawlings said. “That’s what these guys and gals are out there fighting for, so we can enjoy that, so I think it’s a good tribute. We were just glad to be a part of it.”
“They’ve done an exceptional job on this Jeep and I’m just thrilled at their generosity to support the Gary Sinise Foundation and what we’re doing for our veterans and our military families,” Sinise told ClassicCars.com.
Watch LIVE at 5:30pm Mountain Standard Time!
This Jeep will go across the auction block today at Barrett-Jackson, 100% of the proceeds will go to the Gary Sinise Foundation!
LIVE STREAM HERE: https://t.co/UjkEB7S4CH pic.twitter.com/AfU65hZU8E
— GarySiniseFoundation (@GarySiniseFound) January 18, 2019
The Jeep first sold for $200,000, with an additional $1 million donation from Sunbelt Rentals, which was a partner on the project.
That buyer then put it on the block again, fetching an additional $100,000 — all for a grand total of $1.3 million raised for the military and first responders. There are Hollywood stars that spend that much on their own car collections in a year without giving a dime to charity, so hats off to Sinise for going in the opposite direction.
“My first car auction. It’s going to be hard to top that,” Sinise told the Arizona Republica. “There were a lot of veterans out there in the audience so I got to acknowledge them and say thank you.”
Of course, one of the best ways to say “thank you” is to put $1.3 million into the coffers of a foundation that does amazing work for vets.
Doing it with a Jeep this awesome is just an added bonus.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
