When Mel Cook returned from his U.S. Navy service in Vietnam in the late 1960s, it was to protests. Anti-war activists attacked an armory. Even walking to reserve meetings on campus at his Iowa college was an "unpleasant experience," he said.

"It was as if I had caused the war, that’s how it felt," said Cook, 79, of Buckeye. "They were angry with those of us that served, as well as the government. And that was a bit difficult to take.

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