Duty calls for the proud but few.

• Author: Young, James
• Position: Voices - Brief Article

ROCHESTER, NEW YORK--I was sitting in class when my teacher came running in saying, "The World Trade Center was just hit." We watched coverage of the attacks on CNN. I ran to the bathroom because I was feeling sick.

Since then, I have prayed a lot and cried a lot. I admit, I've also been vengeful. This is certainly a battle between good and evil, and there's never been a more just time to fight.

Two days after the attacks, I called up my local Marine recruiter and said I wanted to enlist. I had considered the Marines before, and I decided that I was not going to just sit back and watch other people die--I was going to be part of the solution. The terrorists are the scourge of the world. They're like a gigantic octopus with tentacles in many countries. We can't just cut off one tentacle, we need to cut the head off the octopus.

A lot of people are saying to me either "You're patriotic" or "You're crazy." Freedom comes with a price, and I'm saddened to see young people of military age who don't understand that. I was the only one in my city of 220,000 people to enlist after the attacks. That surprised me. Recruiters were getting tons of calls, but nobody was signing up. Though the world is counting on us, guys around here are just concerned about college and girls and cars.

I don't consider this as doing something special. It is honorable, but it is also the duty...