NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - It is a sad fact that profits and war go together. It can be a little shocking how much.

At the onset of the invasion of Iraq, CNNMoney.com put together a hypothetical portfolio of stocks likely to benefit from the impending war. Some folks, no doubt, found that to be a crass exercise. And perhaps there is some justification, given the human suffering and loss.

Nevertheless, our job is to tell people about the potential pitfalls and opportunities facing their money -- in good times and bad. So we did it.

Looking back at that portfolio, it was quite an opportunity. Investing $1,000 in each of the stocks mentioned ... a total $23,000 investment ... would be worth about $40,863 today. That's a gain of about 78 percent over two-and-a-half years, compared with a gain of 39 percent for the S&P in the same period.

The big, traditional defense outfits ... the makers of Blackhawk helicopters, fighter jets, Bradley armored vehicles ... did particularly well. In one case, United Defense Industries, the gain exceeds 200 percent -- although that's based on its takeover price by BAE Systems this summer.

Some other suppliers of military technology and ammunition, including L-3 Communications (Research), had gains double the S&P's.

The "rebuilding" outfits -- yes, including Halliburton (Research), the company everyone seems to love to hate -- did even better than that.

You'll recall that with all the talk of a "different kind of war" involving new threats and new technologies, some new outfits would see a war boost too.

That was correct to a certain extent. A bomb detection maker, Invision Technologies (Research), and an anti-anthrax outfit, Vaxgen (Research), have done pretty well. But others have lagged.

Of course, other things besides the war in Iraq influence these stocks as well. Still, as a group, they've had quite a run. If you look at some of the more socially conscious mutual funds (see A Peacenik portfolio), they haven't fared nearly as well ... gains of about 14 percent over the last three years.

Now these gains come hand in hand with people dying, homes destroyed, and all the tragedy of war. They also come with the end of a brutal, murderous dictatorship and the introduction of democracy in a country that had none. The arguments about the right and wrong of the relationship have no answer.

But if you own stock in one of these companies, or have a 401(k) or pension plan that invests in them, you may want to be a little extra appreciative this Veteran's Day.

You can see the full War Stock portfolio here ...

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Allen Wastler is Managing Editor of CNNMoney.com and appears on CNN's "In the Money." He can be emailed at wastlerswanderings@cnn.com.