Latinos enlisting in record numbers. Despite opposition to the Iraq war, pride motivates many to sign up for military duty

“Amalia Avila never supported the war. But after her first son, Victor Gonzalez, told her he wanted to join the Marines, she felt a mixture of fear, concern and, finally, pride.

“This war makes no sense to me,” Avila said last week in her Watsonville home. “I’d ask him why he wanted to go, and he’d just say his brothers needed his help. … But when Victor did get into the Marines, when that day came, I was so proud of him.”

Avila paused to allow her tears. “It was a beautiful day.”"

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