Forrest Gump star Gary Sinise funded a reprint of the book Seabiscuit in Arabic language after learning that the kids in Baghdad had become big fans of author Laura Hillenbrand tale of a heroic horse after hearing the news that a U. S. colonel had attempted to translate segments for the kids, who all loved it a lot.

Sinise tells WENN, "Laura wanted to get it translated to Arabic because one of the colonels was reading the book and the Iraqi kids started asking him about it, so he contacted her and asked for Arabic translations of the book.

"We made 15,000 copies of Seabiscuit in Arabic and sent it over there."

That project sparked a connection for Sinise and the writer and they formed Operation Iraqi Children in a bid to get vital school supplies to the children of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The actor adds, "Over the past five years we've sent hundreds of thousands of supplies. Next month (Apr09) American Airlines is taking 25 tons of Operation Iraqi Children supplies over to Iraq and distributing stuff to the troops in Afghanistan to give to the kids." - Sampurn Media