Bob Arbuckle saw the effects of war walk by on its way back from Vietnam. He worked in processing from 1968 to 1969 at Fort Eustis in Virginia. When soldiers came back into the country, Arbuckle was one of the guys they passed by.

"I saw a lot of people come back and you could tell they were torn down to the core. You could see it in their faces," Arbuckle said. "When you go out there and you kill someone, you step over a line. That's something that you have stayed away from your whole life. And when you do it, it just warps your whole fabric."

In the 2016 Democratic primary, Arbuckle was Bernie Sanders supporter, but this year, he said he has found a candidate that "gets the big picture."

"(Rep. Tulsi) Gabbard is absolutely correct when she says that when we intervene in other countries to do a regime-change war, we are really doing it to profit the war industry," Arbuckle said.

Gabbard came to Iowa City a little after nightfall to meet with U.S. veterans before stumping at The Mill. Her flight in New York was delayed, causing her to get into town late, but in the Graduate Hotel's lobby, she met vets like Arbuckle.

Gabbard herself was deployed twice, once to Iraq where she worked in operations and logistics and then to Kuwait where she was platoon leader.

"Those experiences are part of what gives me good judgment," Gabbard told the Press-Citizen before heading over to The Mill. "It makes me someone who understands that we really do have to end regime-change wars. Why we need to make sure we end this new Cold War (with Russia). And that we bring an end to this new nuclear threat (with countries like North Korea)."

Thursday was Gabbard's second pass through Iowa City. She decried the "trillions of dollars" spent on wars that might be better invested in "Medicare-for-all," education, teacher salaries or investing in infrastructure.

"None of these can be done so long as we are on this destructive path," Gabbard said.

For Gabbard, stories like Arbuckle are familiar. She denounced the treatment of veterans on their return from their service to the country.

"Veterans have been paid lip service for far too long, as those Democrat and Republican leaders in Washington (D.C.) continue to send our veterans on these counterproductive regime-change missions that end up causing more suffering and destruction in the countries where we wage these wars," Gabbard said. "Our veterans — those who come home — continue to pay the ultimate price."

She referenced recent findings that veterans are returning with respiratory issues that appear to be deployment related, but she said she had found that some were not able to get VA hospitals to cover the expense.

While Gabbard has the support of voters like Arbuckle, there is some question as to whether or not Sen. Bernie Sanders' recent announcement that he is running for president in 2020 will impact her following.

Jodi Clemens of West Branch said she was inspired by Gabbard's campaign promise to not take PAC money. She said her ideal situation was a ticket with both Gabbard and Sanders on it. Clemens, who supported Sanders in 2016, said she was worried that some from her own camp — namely fellow Democrats — might make the ticket hard to bring to fruition.

"We have some big hurtles to overcome," Clemens said. "I just hope people don't judge a candidate by his loudest, most obnoxious supporters."

Jennifer Danielson of Iowa City expressed a similar desire for a Tusli-Sanders ticket. For her, Gabbard's experience in foreign policy and emphasis on settling world conflicts peacefully really sets her apart.

"I remember watching her on CSPAN and thinking: ‘This is my sister right here,'" Danielson said. "She stands up and is speaking the truth about the military-industrial complex. She is saying, 'This is nonsensical. We need to do something about this.' It's not okay for us to be using our military forces to be making change in other governments and other countries. I don't find that to be acceptable. I don't think Americans find that to be acceptable."

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Zachary Oren Smith writes about government, growth and development for the Press-Citizen. Reach him at zsmith@press-citizen.com or 319-339-7354, and follow him on Twitter @zacharyos.