Many veterans interviewed said that they are closely following the back-and-forth over Kerry's and Bush's military service but that they will probably base their votes on party affiliation and traditional issues such as the economy.
Asked whether Kerry's combat service or his postwar protests will swing many votes of his fellow vets, Frank McCrone, sitting at the bar at VFW Lodge 9619 in Morningside, Md., doesn't even pause.
"Not really. What they're looking at is what is going to affect them personally -- Medicare, prescription drugs, those sorts of things," he said.
Christopher E. Braun, a veteran and real estate executive in Herndon, said he is "still a little funny about Kerry's antiwar stance following his return. I don't like how he turned his back on vets when he came back. But that's not the reason why I'm not voting for him."
But for Jim Grummons, a Korean War veteran and commander of VFW Post 7327 in Springfield, Kerry's "downfall was in going against the Vietnam War. He went with Hanoi Jane, and that ticked a lot of veterans off."
Other Vietnam veterans cited Kerry's testimony in 1971 before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he listed war crimes and atrocities that he said were committed by U.S. troops in Vietnam. It is Kerry's testimony that is the subject of the latest advertisement by the swift boat veterans.
"He should have never gone there," said Desi Arnaiz, a leader of Vietnam Veterans of America Battlefield Lodge 617 in Woodbridge. "I was not a baby killer: I didn't rape. I didn't do any of that stuff."
Miguel Boschulte, a retired master sergeant who earned a Bronze Star in Vietnam, said he is voting for Kerry because he is a Democrat, not because he is a fellow vet.
"I don't like what Bush is doing in Iraq," Boschulte said, bringing up a topic that resonated with many area veterans interviewed this week. "The way they're getting killed over there is senseless. There's no end to it. They're getting killed every day for nothing."
Vietnam veterans in particular drew quick parallels between their war and Iraq. Even supporters of Bush expressed unease with the situation overseas.
Willie B. Jones, a retired master sergeant who served two tours in Vietnam, voted for Bush in 2000. But he said he is reconsidering his support of Bush this year, and not because fellow vet Kerry is running.
"That will play a part, but it really doesn't swing my vote," said Jones, as he was fixing some chicken and rice in the Springfield post's kitchen.
"It's really a tough situation," he said, pouring in some chicken mushroom soup. "I'm glad I'm not in the war now.''
