DENVER — Tammy Duckworth, who lost both of her legs when her Black Hawk helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq, said last night that Sen. Barack Obama would "only send our sons and daughters to war if they have a defined mission and the tools they need."

Speaking at the Democratic National Convention, the McKinley High School and University of Hawai'i graduate described herself as an Asian-American whose father, brother and husband have served in the military.

Duckworth, now a major in the Illinois Army National Guard, last night recognized her fellow soldiers who in November 2004 carried her from the damaged helicopter not knowing whether she was alive.

"They knew the soldier's creed: Never leave a fallen comrade behind. They lived up to it. They risked their lives to save mine," she said. "Because of them, I am here today — Iraq war veteran, female helicopter pilot and wounded warrior."

Duckworth, who was born in Thailand and moved to Hawai'i with her family as a teenager, told The Advertiser in an interview that Obama is an example of Hawai'i's diversity. She said the Illinois senator would be a president who would seek advice from military commanders but would not be afraid to trust his instincts.

"He's not afraid to stand up for what he believes in," she said. "And that's what we want in our commander in chief. We don't want someone who's just going to say I'll do whatever George Bush has done for the last eight years.

"We certainly don't want someone who's going to say that we're going to be there in Iraq for another hundred (years)," referring to a comment made by U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the likely Republican presidential nominee.

Duckworth, who lost a campaign in Illinois for U.S. Congress in 2006 and is now director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, repeated her account of how Obama visited her at her bedside at Walter Reed Army Medical Center when she was recuperating.

"He cared for me then. He'll take care of my buddies and myself well into the future," she said.

'PEOPLE GROWING WEARY'

State Rep. K. Mark Takai, D-34th (Pearl City, Newtown, Royal Summit), a major in the Hawai'i Army National Guard and coordinator for the National Network of Legislators in the Military, said he senses a movement this year among some in the military away from traditional Republican leanings.

"I think, from the perspective of many military people, my impressions are people are growing weary," he said of the Iraq war. "We want to see an end. I think everybody wants to see an end. And I think Obama, at least from my perspective, provides a better glimmer of hope for that end coming sooner rather than later."

McCain, who met his second wife, Cindy, in Hawai'i and whose father led the U.S. Pacific Command, is popular in the Islands' military community and his experiences as a Navy pilot and a prisoner of war in Vietnam are moving for many voters.

McCain's military record is a central part of his biography and Republicans are likely to contrast his service with Obama's inexperience in military and foreign affairs.

"I think a lot of people respect what he has done for his country. It's just incredible," Takai said of McCain. "At the same time, I think the bottom line is that we want peace. The American people want to be respected and appreciated across the world."

Military service often is seen as a strength for a presidential candidate but it is not a prerequisite for becoming commander in chief. Bill Clinton in 1992 was the first president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt not to have some military service, although a dozen presidents in United States history have had no military experience.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democrats' nominee in 2004, was a decorated veteran of Vietnam but was attacked by conservatives for his anti-war stand after he returned.

An independent conservative group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, attempted to discredit Kerry's military record in advertisements during the campaign. Kerry had commanded swift boats in Vietnam.

KERRY RETURNS FIRE

Last night, Kerry fought back against critics who have conflated Obama's opposition to the war in Iraq with a lack of support for the military.

"How desperate to tell the son of a single mother who chose community service over money and privilege that he doesn't put America first," Kerry told delegates. "No one can question Barack Obama's patriotism."

Kerry referred to Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who worked on a bomber assembly line in World War II; his grandfather, Stanley Dunham, who marched in Gen. George Patton's Army; and he introduced Obama's great-uncle, Charlie Payne, who helped the Army liberate one of the Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald.

Payne, who received an ovation from delegates, is Madelyn Dunham's brother. Obama was born in Hawai'i, graduated from Punahou School and was raised by his mother and grandmother in Honolulu.

Obama, Kerry said, "will end this politics of distortion and division. He will be a president who seeks not to perfect the lies of swift-boating, but to end them once and for all."

When reaching for an issue to attack the opposition, both parties know that raising doubts about a candidate's commitment to the military or to patriotism can be effective. Democrats, for example, have questioned the extent of President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard during Vietnam.

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, a Medal of Honor recipient for his Army service in World War II, said Obama's lack of military service should not be a factor.

"It's true he didn't go to war but, well, did FDR go to war? He led us in the biggest war," Inouye said in a recent interview. "So I don't hold that against anyone who didn't serve. Many of those who served in policymaking positions in the White House, in the Defense Department, never carried a gun.

"Are we going to say that they're not qualified?"