A Vestal man attended President Obama'a State of the Union address earlier this week.
Retired US Army Colonel Benjamin Margolius was a guest of Congressman Richard Hanna, who wanted to honor a Southern Tier veteran. Margolius served from 1963 to 1991, which included tours of duty in Vietnam. Margolius says he was privileged to have the rare opportunity of seeing the State of the Union. He says he had a great seat in the gallery, near former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and Michelle Obama. Margolias says, "One of the things that we as citizens, at least many of us, may think that the Congressmen and Senators are these lofty people and we may or may not put them on a pedestal. When you get down there and you're among them and talking with them, they're just like regular people. They're really human beings and have real concerns about the country."
Margolius is also a member of two organizations that work on veterans issues. They are the Military Officers Association of America and the Southern Tier Veterans Support Group.
