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Wendy Cahill, owner of Molten Java in Bethel, denies accusations that she has refused to serve members of the military, and in fact, supports the efforts of U.S. troops.

Skip Clapp spent 10 years in the U.S. Navy, including two and a half years in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. A lifelong Bethel resident, Clapp took pride in serving his country.

Unfortunately, not everyone felt the same way in the 1960s and 1970s.

"I remember we flew into San Francisco after I came home in 1969," Clapp said Tuesday. "We parked at the end of the runway, and they put us into buses.

"There were protesters on both sides of the buses calling us names and taunting us," he added. "You don't want to know what they called us, but I lived it. I lived walking through a crowd of people calling us baby killers."

Almost 40 years later, Clapp was shocked last week when he heard about another Navy man, Andrew Jones of Bethel, who was allegedly refused service at the Molten Java coffee shop in town.

Although Jones declined comment for this story, his mother, Karen Cleary, said Monday that Jones was refused service in May because he was in uniform. Jones, a 19-year-old seaman in the Navy, has since returned to his base in Portsmouth, Va.

"It's ridiculous for this kind of thing to be going on in this day and age," Cleary said. "I'm not out to ruin anyone's business, believe me. But I want a public apology for my son."

Within days of the alleged incident -- hours, even -- angry e-mails raced through Bethel and across Connecticut. Some people called for boycotts. Others launched smear campaigns. Others wrote to the state office of the Veterans of Foreign

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Wars (VFW) in Rocky Hill.

Still, no one was more shocked than Wendy Cahill, the owner of Molten Java.

"I don't have any specific information about what took place, so it's very difficult for me to believe it unfolded the way the story is being told," Cahill said. "The rumor is that I don't serve people in uniform. That's a lie, and it's absolutely ludicrous.

"I've had family in the service. My cousin is in the service right now," Cahill added. "She works in dental forensics with the (U.S.) Air Force. She has to look at those bodies coming in from overseas."

Although Cleary stands by her story, local and state veterans' groups are calling for cooler heads to prevail.

It's a good idea.

Before anyone points a finger -- or worse, a picket sign -- at Molten Java, they need to consider all the details of this alleged incident. Or at least the details that are presently available.

"There were a lot of e-mails kicked back over this. I received five or six of them," said Ronald Rusakiewicz, adjutant of the state VFW and a Vietnam veteran. "I just cautioned people not to rush to judgment and to make sure this incident happened the way they think it did.

"Don't get me wrong, we're a veterans' organization, and we support veterans," Rusakiewicz added. "But if we had felt strongly that it did happen, we would've gotten involved right away."

Clapp agreed.

"If this did happen, it's quite unfortunate," said Clapp, president of the Bethel Patriotic Association and adjutant of American Legion Post No. 100 in Bethel. "But in the military, we were trained not to stick your head up because you might get it shot off.

"I know with myself and most of the other veterans in town, we're of the belief that unless you get all the original parties together and find out what happened, you can't go down to Molten Java and accuse this woman."

Cahill, 39, doesn't hide her political leanings -- or her penchant for nose rings -- at Molten Java on Greenwood Avenue. She is a liberal business owner who opposes the war in Iraq.

But that doesn't make her guilty of refusing to serve someone in uniform.

"My more conservative customers have been amazing through all this," Cahill said. "Their friends are like, 'Why do you go there?' And they tell them, 'Because I know her.'

"I'm not in (the coffee shop business) for a lot of money. I don't make a lot of money doing this," Cahill went on. "This is about the town I moved to. It's about my character and the character of my employees."

On Monday, Lt. Cmdr. Mark Dwinells met with Cahill to discuss the allegations. Dwinells, a Bethel resident, runs the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program at Bethel High School, the same program Jones once attended.

"As an officer and a gentleman, I met personally with Ms. Cahill," said Dwinells, adding that Cahill first sent him an e-mail seeking his advice. "We had a very candid conversation, and she assured me there was no denial of service. I have no reason to doubt her sincerity.

"I think it's important that none of us should overreact in this situation," Dwinells said. "Ms. Cahill understands the historical significance of how our troops have been treated (poorly) in the past, and she doesn't want to see it happen again. In fact, she brought it up herself without being solicited."

In the end, we'll probably never know what happened at Molten Java that day. But unless more details emerge, don't hold it against Wendy Cahill.

"Bethel is better than that," Clapp said.

And you know what? He's right.

Contact Brian Koonz at bkoonz@newstimes.com or at (203) 731-3411.