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"A Sacramento veteran will be in attendance Tuesday in Washington, D.C., as President Barack Obama lays out his agenda for the country.Matt Ceccato has served two tours in Iraq and is now a political fellow in the office of Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., as part of the Wounded Warrior Project.WWatch report: Local veteran to attend State of the Union address\u201CI look forward to hearing America\u2019s continued support for all veterans from all wars,\u201D he told KCRA 3.Ceccato attended Obama\u2019s inauguration, but this will be his first experience listening to a State of the Union address.\u201CI\u2019m very excited. I\u2019m honored to be even in the room,\u201D he said. \"It\u2019s a Christmas morning, all over again.\u201D\"It allows me to take a look back at the large picture, to get a macro view on what the president believes the government should be focusing on for the next year,\u201D said Ceccato.He was inspired to join the Army after the 9/11 attacks and was deployed to Iraq.\u201CWe did the push to Baghdad, to control Baghdad with what happened and to control the looting at nighttime as well as trying to win the hearts and minds. (We went out) and gave people water, or electricity, and escorted little girls to school,\u201D he said.In 2005, Ceccato was deployed a second time and remembers what happened on National Airborne Day.\u201CWe were responding to a call that another unit had been ambushed and was in trouble,\u201D he said. \u201CAs the closest people to respond to that at that time, we decided to take that risk and that's when I was injured.\u201DCeccato was shot in the leg and returned to the United States suffering from not only physical challenges, but also post-traumatic stress disorder.What he gained was resolve.\u201CAlthough I was injured in Iraq, I wanted to define my life on my terms,\u201D Ceccato said.The G.I. Bill allowed him to attend Sacramento State. He recently received his master's degree in foreign affairs and public policy from Pennsylvania State.\u201CI send people to the right resources, because I understand what it\u2019s like to be depressed. I understand what it\u2019s like to be alone, either from the V.A. or your own family unit,\u201D Ceccato said, explaining his passion of helping veterans at Bera\u2019s office.\u00A0\u00A0Ceccato hopes the president will talk about resources for veterans during Tuesday\u2019s address.\u201CI\u2019m very excited to hear it and to also be a part of it in the congressman\u2019s office, implementing positive changes for veterans,\u201D he said."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-veteran-to-attend-tuesday-s-state-of-the-union-address/6410822>