As U.S. Forces pushed deeper into Fallujah Tuesday, marking the largest battle since the war in Iraq began 19 months ago, people in Helena went about their daily lives, pausing in varying degrees to consider the ongoing conflict.

With the presidential election over and the offensive under way, students at Carroll College moved from class to class while U.S. Marines moved through Fallujah house by house, ridding the city of Sunni insurgents.

Those students, who were randomly asked about the battle, said they no longer followed the war in Iraq and paid little attention to the fight for Fallujah.

When asked why, one male student said he didn't follow the war "because it's stupid." A female student said she no longer followed the war because she was "fed up with it." Another student said he was too busy to talk about it.

Across town at a local gas station, articulate opinions were easier to come by.

There, driving his delivery truck, Trevor May said media coverage of the war had slipped in past months, with the national attention focused elsewhere.

"I think the public has lost a little interest in the war because it's been going on so long," May said. "It's not posted as much on the news anymore. It's an ongoing thing, and I think it will be an ongoing war."

Filling his car with gasoline, Tom Downs held the opposite opinion, saying public interest in the war remains strong.

"It's in the headlines every day," he said. "We're saturated by it every day. You wake up and it's still there."

But Downs had concerns.

"I know Fallujah is a major offensive, but what happens when the battle is over?" he said. "It seems like the insurgence is getting stronger. It kind of reminds you of Vietnam -- it's a no winner."

The Helena lunch rush began on schedule just before noon. Restaurants and coffee shops filled up fast with those pressed for time.

Meanwhile, in Fallujah, U.S. forces suffered casualties Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. The military did not say how many there were, or how seriously they were hurt.

"I think people have gotten sick of the war," said Dave Angrove, as he stood with his daughter at the gas pump. "We're not getting anywhere over there, but we're spending a lot of money."

Absent are the local protests that marked the war's start in March 2003. Soldiers in Montana have come and gone from Iraq over the past 19 months, often returning with little public fanfare.

Chuck Doering, a retired Helenan stopping for gasoline, supports U.S. troops.

Still, he sees the war as "the biggest mistake we've ever made."

"What a mess," he said. "I just hope we can end it."

Jim Barngrover, who is old enough to remember the Vietnam War, sees parallels between that conflict and the war in Iraq.

"The local populace is rising up in resistance," he said. "They no longer want us there. It's clear to the rest of the world. Why isn't it clear to us?"

He added, "I suspect that we'll have many more Fallujah-type situations if we continue to pursue this military campaign."

Barngrover said many people may be feeling post-election fatigue. But the anti-war demonstrations, he said, may not be far away.

"This will become just as contentious as Vietnam," he said. "The next four years will be interesting. When the bill arrives, economically and in lives cost, it will finally hit home."

Then there was Dan Breedlove, a Vietnam-era veteran who fears that the war in Iraq will further alienate the U.S. from the rest of the world.

"I feel terrible for the people over there," Breedlove said, speaking both of the U.S. soldiers and Iraqi citizens.