Lebanon — With just days before the New Hampshire primary, the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., is taking heat from Upper Valley residents who say his campaign used their images on mailers without their permission.

When American Legion state officer Tom Wiley, of Canaan, was called by the Legion’s top officer in New Hampshire, Wiley didn’t know what it was about, but he said the tone of state Cmdr. John Graham made it clear something was wrong.

“He called me, quite straightforwardly, and asked me, had I endorsed any candidate,” Wiley said Saturday. “He asked specifically about Bernie.”

It was a sensitive subject, Wiley knew, both because the American Legion fiercely protects its image as a nonpartisan organization, and because Wiley is in the early stages of a campaign himself, for the post of New Hampshire’s Department Commander. If he were found to be guilty of flouting the group’s bylaws, it could sink his chances. “I said, ‘No, I’ve never even shook his hand,” said Wiley.