[InChiefsHeaven]

My son signed up for the Marines right after High School. He was an honor student, and did not need military service. Now, admittedly he signed up for the adventure of it too, but a lot had to do with 9-11. He was 7 when it happened, so it's something he grew up with. I never told the boy that he had to join the Military, much less the Marines, but I'm proud as hell of him for it. He doesn't think as much of his service as everyone else does (told my wife she loves the Marines more than he does...heh...and all the guys he serves with concur....) and gets a little annoyed or embarrassed by some of the attention he gets, but I tell him to live with it. It's the only way people know to express their appreciation. Again, it's not anything he had to do, he just wanted to.