He was in debt. If you're looking for me to say patriotism, I'm not. They [the Army] offer you the world. They give you signing bonuses. Give you college, upfront money, health insurance [recruiters are] great salesmen.
Lady, your son was 24 years old. He was old enough to make a decision about enlisting. He was old enough to understand that being in the military isn't just about what goodies you can get from Uncle Sam. Unless you raised him to be naive enough to thinking enlisting during wartime didn't mean the possibility of going to a war zone, I doubt he was nearly as clueless as you make him out to be.
True, he was old enough to make his own decisions and be responsible for them. It was so infuriating when Michael Moore kept asking Bill O'Reilly if he would sacrifice his "child" for the war in Iraq and O'Reilly skirted the question, because the answer is, like it or not, these soldiers are not children - they are grown men and women who choose to enlist. A little wet behind the ears to be sure, but old enough to legally walk their own path.
That said, I have a hard time condemning any woman who has lost a son, because I can't even imagine losing mine and how I might deal with it. Maybe I'd go a bit crazy too. So she has my heartfelt sympathy and prayers even though I may vehemently disagree with her subsequent actions and political positions.