WILSONVILLE - On a day when U.S senator and Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was meeting with military officials on his first visit to Iraq, U.S Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) Oregon campaign gathered 40 Oregonian war veterans at the Korean War Memorial Tuesday to express their support for the Republican U.S senator and Presidential candidate.

"John McCain recognizes and understands the sacrifices of those who serve our country in the armed forces. John McCain served our country heroically for 25 years in the Navy including 5½ years in the Hanoi Hilton,'" said former Oregon Congressman Denny Smith (R-Ontario), a war veteran who flew 180 missions in Vietnam. Smith is also a longtime friend of McCain and the Honorary Co-Chair of the Oregon McCain Campaign. "He has put our country's interest ahead of his own self-interest through his bipartisan work in Congress and his military service."

War veterans represent a solid base of McCain supporters, and with approximately 360,000 of them in Oregon, they could be crucial to McCain's efforts to get out the vote in the Beaver State, where he is behind in the most recent poll, 46 percent to 38 percent. Fortunately, McCain campaign spokesman Rick Gorka says, veterans are the most loyal and reliable base a candidate could ask for.

"They are our biggest and best source of support," Gorka said. "They are active, they will write letters, and they will get out there."

Many veterans at the War Memorial said they supported McCain because they thought the country needed a leader who has the experience of being in battle in order to successfully get through the war on terror. But McCain also appealed to the veterans gathered because they believe he represents the best of what being in the military is all about.

"He has an unwavering commitment to service," said Wilsonville resident and coalition member Jake McMichael, who was also a former classmate's of McCain's at the naval academy. "He puts service above himself."

The gathering of soldiers included veterans from World War II all the way up to veterans of the most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And while the older veterans may have been able to relate to McCain's experiences in Vietnam, younger soldiers were looking to him to help guide them through the current wars victoriously.

"I feel much more comfortable having John McCain as my commander in chief and having him make decisions toward military futures," said PFC John Lancaster, an Army reservist who attended the gathering.

Lancaster had come to show his support with his mother, Anna, who says she is more comfortable with a military man being in charge of how to fight the war on terror, and how to make the right decision for her son when he eventually gets deployed.

"Someone who understands that type of mindset is what this country needs," she said.