But not all vets agreed with their commander-in-chief. Lawrence Bastian, Puerto Rico, who served in Korea and Vietnam, said the country should have left Iraq after its former president, Saddam Hussein, was taken out of office.

But Bastian is resigned with completing the job. "We created this mess, so we've got to stay and finish it."

Utahns Colleen Parkin and Jan Moncur last year lost sons who served in Iraq — the American Legion calls them "Gold Star" mothers. Both met Bush after his speech.

"I thought it was an incredible speech," said Parkin, whose son, Marine Cpl. Matthew Reed Smith, died in Iraq.

Moncur's son, Army Pfc. Philip Christensen, died during a training mission in Kansas. Like Bush, she disagrees with the notion of pulling out of Iraq now.

"We're patient," Moncur said. "We can wait for as long as it takes."

Texas veteran Tom Tvrdik was part of the 1968 Tet Offensive in Vietnam and agreed with Bush that U.S. troops need to remain in Iraq for now.

"If we pulled out now and did like we did in Vietnam, we'd be running forever," Tvrdik said.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com; sspeckman@desnews.com