My son is turning down a full ride scholarship so he can enlist in the Marine Corps...?

[Jay]

My son (17 years old, senior in high school) has recently been offered a full ride scholarship to play football. He came up to me and my wife last night and said that he really needed to talk to us and didn't want us to be angry. At first I thought he had gotten a girl pregnant or something, but when he told us that he didn't want to accept the scholarship and enlist in the Marine Corps instead I was kind of awe struck. He is very athletic and the only way that he will ever quit something is if someone forces him to, he is VERY stubborn (gets that from me). My dad is a Marine veteran from Vietnam and my grandfather was a Marine in World War 2, so I understand why he wants to join the Corps (I wasn't allowed to since I had epilepsy as a child). He said that he's met with the recruiter a few times over the past few weeks and has decided he wants to become an Infantryman and that he is able to get Battalion Recon (I guess the USMC Special Ops??) tryout in his contract. So naturally I am confused- why would a kid who has everything going for him, an amazing life, tons of women chasing him, good grades, and a full ride give it all up for a very small pay check, being treated like crap, and possibly being killed. His reply- "I'd rather die fighting on my feet than see the world go to hell while sitting down and watching it on TV. You guys have protected me my entire life, it's my turn to return that favor." That comment made me proud of him than I have ever been, but my wife is still VERY concerned. She wants me to try and talk him out of it, but I can see him shining in the service; I guess it had surprised me because he has NEVER once mentioned anything about that before. So should I try talking him out of it? What do I tell my wife when in reality I support him?

Please no mean comments, in my household we are not absolutely pro-government, but we support our country and back our troops no matter what.