IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Chris Pratt posts touching Veterans Day message in honor of his brother

The actor's older brother, Cully Pratt, served in the U.S. Army.
Chris Pratt Honored With Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame
Chris Pratt, mom Kathy Pratt and brother Cully Pratt at the actor's Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony in 2017.FilmMagic
/ Source: TODAY

Chris Pratt couldn't be more proud of his big brother, Cully.

The "Guardians of the Galaxy" star posted a note on Instagram on Veterans Day paying tribute to his brother, who is three years older and who served in the U.S. Army.

"He is a good big brother. He’s always led with love," Pratt wrote next to a photo of Cully Pratt, whose real name is Daniel, in uniform.

"Growing up we wrestled for hours every day and smashed every bit of furniture in the house but never actually fought," Pratt wrote. "He taught me everything. He put up with me and my incessant hyperactivity and forced his friends to do the same."

Pratt recalled how he used to pick his brother's clothes up off the floor and wear them, since they were the same size and he idolized him so much.

He said he wanted to tell the story of Cully because he wants people to remember that veterans are so much more than the uniform.

They are "actual people, with siblings and parents, with children and funny pasts" who deserve to be approached "with compassion and understanding," he said.

"My brother didn’t join the army because he wanted to be Rambo. He joined because it was an opportunity for a hard-nosed kid who couldn’t afford college, somebody who wanted to get the hell out of his small town and probably wanted his own clothes," Pratt wrote. "We have the greatest armed forces the world has ever seen. It’s made up of real people who joined for myriad reasons. Brave men and women who sacrifice a whole hell of a lot. Today is their day. So celebrate a veteran today."

Cully enlisted after he graduated from high school in 1995, according to the website for the Solano County Sheriff's Office in California, where he works as a public information officer. He spent eight and a half years as an infantryman, military police officer and as an Army recruiter and retention officer before he left the U.S. Army in 2003.

Cully couldn't help but tease his little brother over the sentimental note.

"Dude ... that made my allergies start up," he commented. "Whoever wrote that for you needs a raise!"