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Merkle, Youth Outreach Program Director at CCCO and originator of the Real War Stories concept, describes her years working with Vietnam veterans in Cleveland high schools to counteract the Rambo/Top Gun glamorization of military service. She argues that military recruiters systematically mislead young people about job training and education benefits while obscuring the reality of ongoing U.S. interventions in Central America, and recounts a phone call from a 17-year-old who reconsidered enlisting after reading the book.