Vietnam veterans rekindle lost friendships

Gathered together under a perfect blue sky, a group of Marines shared smiles and told tales on a long-awaited Sunday afternoon in Columbia Falls. Next to the camp fire, James Cooper, aka “Coop,” stood up to tell the story of how he pulled the wool over “Hawk’s” eyes with a complete piece of fiction about his first wife and the mafia and “an offer he couldn’t refuse.” As the crowd leaned in close they were all smiles (except for Hawk) as the yarn unwound.