Rep. Huffman Announces State of the Union Guest

January 29, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) announced that he has invited his constituent and president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Marin County Chapter, Ernie Bergman, to attend the 2020 State of the Union address as his guest.

“I am honored to have Ernie Bergman, a Vietnam war veteran, by my side at this year’s State of the Union address,” said Rep. Huffman. “His service to our country and his continued service to veterans and to our community demonstrate the best of the American spirit. His experience of combat, and his work with students in the decades since, has led him to be a thoughtful counterpoint to President Trump’s careless and dangerous treatment of our military.

“Trump’s ill-advised attack on Iran is just the latest example of his saber-rattling around the globe that makes a costly and unnecessary war far more likely. Although the Trump administration tried to cover-up the incident, American servicemembers and personnel were wounded from Iranian retaliatory missile attacks on U.S. bases earlier this month. Mr. Bergman puts a face to those soldiers, a man who has lived through the pain and consequences of war -- and successfully turned that into a lifetime of advocating to end the violent cycle of war,” he concluded.

Ernest Bergman was born in San Francisco and raised in Mill Valley CA.  He enlisted in the US Navy right after high school (1966) and served in the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia for over 32 months. His official job in the Navy was as quartermaster, being primarily responsible for surface ship navigation. Most of his in-country time was in the Mekong Delta with the Mobile Riverine Force out of Dong Tam, Vietnam.

After the military he went to college and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business, after which he completed work toward an MBA and started working in the financial services field. He has been in the investment and financial services industry for 43 years and has been a Certified Financial Planner for about 27 years. Mr. Bergman is currently retired, but still does occasional contract work in the industry. He currently lives in San Rafael, CA and is very involved in veteran’s issues, serving as president of the Marin County chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America.

This week, the House of Representatives approved Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s bill to repeal the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) and Congressman Ro Khanna’s legislation to prohibit funding for military action against Iran not authorized by Congress.

 

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