This year, the soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq are foremost in our minds.

STLtoday - News - ColumnistsThis year, the soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq are foremost in our minds.



Before him he carries noise, and behind him he leaves tears: Death, that dark spirit, in’s nervy arm doth lie.





The most memorable image of Election Day was not Tim Russert's grim recalculation of electoral votes on his little white board. Nor was it the glum silence of Harvey Weinstein's celebrity-studded party in New York. And it certainly wasn't the fist of Sen. John Edwards desperately pumping the air.



It was a handful of U.S. Marines in Iraq, calmly eating their breakfast. Fox News Channel went to a live shot of their mess hall outside Fallujah several times that night, where quiet men in camouflage watched the election returns as they ate from metal trays. Beyond the sight of the lone camera, nearly 10,000 of their military brothers and sisters were preparing for a major assault that would take them into the heart of the Iraqi insurgency. Even with the risk of death outside the door, they ate with the steely look of men accustomed to fighting for their lives - and winning.



This year, Veterans Day will not be another long look back to "The Greatest Generation." Vietnam veterans already made their mark in the run-up to the election. The Democratic candidate for president, Sen. John Kerry, made his military service the centerpiece of his campaign and the "Band of Brothers his most critical endorsement. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, however, launched a full attack on the candidate's war record, and others who served revealed how much the war protests had cost them. Early in the year, Vietnam veterans gave Kerry's candidacy its only momentum. But by summer, other Vietnam veterans stopped it cold.



Center stage this Veterans Day are the veterans now serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. The condition of their armor, the length of their tours of duty, and most importantly, the numbers of their dead, became critical issues in the presidential contest. There was little contest among those who served, and a clear majority supported their commander in chief's goal of bringing democracy to Iraq. Though the count of their absentee ballots is not yet final, a national election survey of hundreds of active military service members and their families, made before the election by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, found that 69 percent trusted President George W. Bush's leadership, compared to 24 percent for Sen. John Kerry.



Little wonder, since so many of those who serve in the armed forces hail from the reddest parts of the red states. These men and women were born and reared in an America where clarity is prized and "nuance" is a lack of conviction. In their hometowns, rooting for the United States Of America is as natural as breathing and just as necessary. A strong faith that there is a God and a purpose bigger than themselves makes self-sacrifice a necessary virtue.



Those who serve in uniform set and meet a standard higher than the rest of us. In a society with little personal discipline, they are highly disciplined. In a time of specialization, they understand computer programming, can change the oil in a Humvee and can load a machine gun while under fire. In a country that worships comfort, they train their minds and bodies to endure hardship without complaint or therapy.



Many of our troops will spend Veterans Day fighting for Fallujah, on the watch for car bombs and praying to get home to mothers, fathers, husbands, wives and children. We certainly need them, and not only because we love them. Every state - red or blue - needs their strength and their courage.



Americans know how to vote, march in protest, write letters to the editor and harangue their congressmen. Our journalists know how to ask questions, uncover corruption and pressure institutions and governments. Hollywood knows how to make movies, market celebrities and stage rock concerts. Politicians know how to earn and wield power. But very few of us know how to actually fight for our lives.



The Marines do. So do the men and women of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. They fight for us, and fight to the death.