"NORFOLK -- Just after 5 p.m., Homer A. Ewert walked into the canteen of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4809, and the dozen or so people gathered there sipping on dollar drafts noticed his arrival immediately.

"Homer!" a couple of guys yelled as if they had not seen Ewert in years. Ewert, 83, his U.S. Navy-Retired baseball cap cocked ever so slightly to one side, smiled broadly as his brother veterans made room for him at the bar.

Post 4809 is in a prime spot just off Interstate 264 at the Military Highway exit. It is a large, one-story, cinder-block building with the bar, a meeting hall and a playground for the children and grandchildren of the members.

In the neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent George Allen and Democrat James Webb, reeling in the veterans' vote could be key. And in Virginia, that means targeting the Hampton Roads area, home of the world's largest naval station and one of the country's largest concentrations of veterans.

On Monday, Allen campaigned in Virginia Beach at another VFW post with Sen. John W. Warner (R), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and retired Navy Cmdr. Paul Galanti, who heads Allen's veterans effort. Allen recently was endorsed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars political action committee, which backed Sen. Charles S. Robb (D-Va.) over Allen in 2000. Allen won the Hampton Roads area in that election.

Like Robb, Webb also is a decorated Marine who served in the Vietnam War. Yesterday, a coalition of veterans groups held a news conference at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington to announce their support for Webb. The groups were led by the Veterans' Alliance for Security and Democracy, a political action committee that contributes money to candidates. Separately, Veterans for Webb stumped for Webb yesterday and today in six cities and towns across the state.

Veterans in Virginia frequently gather in places such as Post 4809 to talk about their day, how they did in the last Mega Millions drawing (Ewert split $2 with six partners) and about the old days. On a recent night, they agreed to break their rule of keeping talk about politics to a minimum to discuss their views of Allen and Webb, a former Navy secretary.

A recent Mason-Dixon poll showed that likely voters in the 2nd Congressional District, which consists of Virginia Beach, the Eastern Shore and about half of Norfolk and Hampton, favor Allen by 45 percent to 44 percent, which means the race is a virtual tie and could be decided by voters such as Ewert who have not made up their minds.

Ewert, a Navy photographer who shot some of the fiercest battles in the South Pacific during World War II, said the fact that Webb is a Vietnam veteran would hold no sway with him ("Vietnam wasn't a real war like World War II"). And what about Allen? "He's had his problems."

Many of the veterans said they were fed up with the conduct of both campaigns.

"The thing that really upsets me is how negative a campaign both Senate candidates are running," said Steve Lasseter, the post's senior vice commander. "It has not been effective. You don't know where they stand on the issues. All the commercials just say, 'He does this, he did that, the other one does this' -- that's not very good."

Lasseter, 62, who served one tour of duty in Vietnam with the U.S. Navy, said he will vote for Allen. "I like George Allen. I always have. I don't like negative campaigning and they've both done it, but more than anything, it was started by Webb -- and I never liked him when he was secretary of the Navy, either."

The war in Iraq is the biggest campaign issue to the veterans of Post 4809.

"I hate the fact that we are there," said Richard Helm, who spent 13 years in the Navy. "The guys over there are doing an honorable job, but most of the people in Iraq don't seem to care about that or whether they are there."

He said that although Republicans such as Allen and President Bush are responsible for the conduct of the war, he has not been convinced that Webb or the Democrats have a better plan.

"I have heard the Democrats complain a lot about policies, about this, that and the other thing," he said. "But I haven't heard any solutions from them yet. I might be kind of cynical, but the devil you know is better than the devil you don't, unless you reach the point where you say, 'Dump all the incumbents.' But I haven't reached that point yet."

For Nick Pittman, 83, a Navy veteran of World War II, the election Tuesday comes down to one issue: "Somebody who will help us out with veterans affairs."

He said he is undecided on the candidates, but it will have to be someone who cares about people like him.

Webb campaign officials say they believe the Democrat will appeal to veterans because of his early warnings and opposition to the war in Iraq, in contrast to Allen's "stay the course" position. Webb has been endorsed by retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark, among others.

The Allen campaign said the senator has worked to increase funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs to care for wounded troops and to restore money for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. At a veterans event in Manassas on Oct. 18, Allen explained his latest view of the war.

"Although our principles and strategic goals have not changed in Iraq, mistakes have been made and progress has been too slow," he said. "We must adapt our operations and tactics to meet the evolving terrorist threat and the Iraqi people must take control of their destiny. I want our troops home, and I want them to come home in victory -- not defeat."" (Timothy Dwyer, The Washington Post, November 2, 2006)

Editor's Note: An index to coverage of George Allen on the Loper website may be found at http://loper.org/~george/archives/2006/Aug/925.html