A Mahoning Township man joined Congressman Ryan Mackenzie on Tuesday at President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress.

Michael Wargo and his wife, Sally, are Gold Star parents who tragically lost their son after a long battle with PTSD. Since then, they have devoted themselves to raising awareness of veteran suicide and supporting other Gold Star families.

Mackenzie said, “The Wargos have endured unimaginable tragedy and have used that experience to serve veterans and their families here in the Greater Lehigh Valley. Their courage, strength and resilience is an inspiration to so many in our community, and I’m proud to have Mr. Wargo here with me tonight.”

Mackenzie said he is committed to bringing attention to the ongoing crisis of veteran suicide, as well as challenges with addiction, mental health, and homelessness. Carbon County has the highest rate of veteran suicide of any county in Pennsylvania.

“The Wargos have always made clear that our support for veterans can’t stop after they get home,” Mackenzie said. “For many, the fight continues long after they leave the battlefield. In Congress, I will keep working alongside constituents like the Wargos and others affected by this crisis to ensure that veterans and their families get the care and support they deserve.”

Wargo said Wednesday morning it was “an amazing experience.”

Wargo said he and his wife had met Mackenzie several months ago at the Orioles in Lehighton where a Republican function was being held “and we told him about our story what we’re doing about Michael and everything with Valor Clinic and he remembered me because a couple months ago we met him again at the GOP headquarters on Blakeslee Boulevard, and he remembered the story about how Michael died.”

Wargo drove with Mackenzie and was able to tour the Capitol on Tuesday with Mackenzie.

“It was a wonderful experience, something must people don’t get to do,” Wargo said.

Wargo said he was pleased with his seating arrangement.

“I had a pretty good seat; I was to the left of Trump’s shoulder, I could see him very good,” he said. “I enjoyed the speech, what he had to say; I had hoped he would touch a little more on veterans suicide, but he didn’t.”

While there, Wargo said he spoke with Mike Johnson, speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

“He had seen Michael’s dog tag on my chest. We talked a little about Michael, and I told him we’re trying to honor those veterans who died by suicide,” he said. “We’re (Valor) trying to build a monument up in the Poconos and plan to establish the Memorial Mile (National Monument) in which they’re going to have panels for every state, and we would like to put those names on the wall so they can be properly honored.”

Wargo said the number of people we’ve lost to veterans suicide since 9/11 is over 180,000, which he added is three times the number we lost in Vietnam, and added that Johnson said he would look into the Suicide Data Repository.

Overall, Wargo said it was quite the experience.

“I’m tired, I’m stiff from walking; I never walked so much in my life,” he said.

Veterans in crisis are encouraged to dial 988, then press 1, or go to veteranscrisisline.net