While in grad school at Lincoln during the mid 80’s, I lived next door to a widow who claimed that she and her husband would go to a lake between Lincoln and Omaha and bring Mel with them. Apparently, Mel and her husband Chuck were in the Air Force together. She said that he was always writing stuff down. I didn’t believe her at the time.
It was about 15 or so years later I actually emailed Mr. Tillis and asked him. Yes, he replied and said it was true.