A retired Army officer, McCool, 60, began his 20-year Army career at the height of an unpopular war. His deployment to Vietnam, where more than 58,000 American soldiers died, lasted for several years.

“I have lived for 38 years with a burden that every Vietnam veteran carries,” says McCool, a native of Sanford, Fla. “That burden is that we did not win. It was not our fault. I am incredibly proud of my service in Vietnam and that of all my brothers. But our nation never embraced us and loved us the way they have all the other veterans of our past wars.”

McCool finds it shameful that Americans behaved as they did when their soldiers returned from Vietnam. He fears that our men and women fighting in Iraq will return to the same ridicule, but McCool says he won’t let that happen without a fight.

“Every American should be just so thankful that they have the military that they have, because it’s the best,” he says. “My generation, from 1965 to 1985, was a great military, but this is the best military this nation has ever had. They’re the best educated, the best trained, the best equipped and the most highly motivated we’ve ever had.”

McCool is one of three former soldiers who have resolved to show their support of American troops overseas. All three — McCool, Lt. Col. Marc Breslow and Maj. Carl Heerup — opposed the invasion of Iraq, but they felt a strong calling to help their fellow soldiers finish what the United States began. Each made the difficult decision to leave their families and homes behind to serve for a year in Iraq.

“I was adamantly opposed to the invasion of Iraq,” said Heerup, 52, of Phoenix. “I believed at the time and still believe that it’s a mistake and never should have occurred. However, it happened. And given that we did it ... that puts certain responsibilities on us, both moral and legal.”

“I felt that I could better support that opinion if I put my body where my mouth was,” he added. “So that’s why I went there.”

Since returning home in December, the trio has embarked on another mission: to rally support for the troops. They set out on March 1 on “Resolve to Win,” a two-week march from the North Carolina-South Carolina border to Washington, D.C. Their 400-mile trek will end Sunday when they reach the Lincoln Memorial.

Last Tuesday, the men fought wind and rain, exhaustion and blistered feet to march 25 miles — their average daily distance — from Dunn to Smithfield. A small band of supporters greeted them at their destination by waving U.S. flags and cheering.

Among them was Tina Medlin of Fuquay-Varina. Medlin’s son, Jarrod, a search and rescue swimmer in the Navy, is currently serving in a helicopter combat squadron in the Persian Gulf.

“There’s always so much bad press surrounding what our guys and girls are doing overseas,” Medlin said. “People always say that 70 percent of Americans are against the war. Well, everybody is against war. But sometimes you just have to fight. And you definitely have to fight to win. So I’m proud of these guys for drawing attention to the fact that we need to support our troops, no matter what their mission.”

Breslow, 56, an Army ROTC teacher in California, said he couldn’t have stated things any better. “We’ve probably seen 20,000 people along the highway since we’ve been walking up here, and almost every single one of them, universally, has given us the thumbs up,” he said.

For more information on the "Resolve to Win" march and to follow the journey to the nation's capital, visit www.resolvetowin.us