Son of Chicago mayor joins U.S. Army

Des Plaines, IL, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and his wife, Maggie, looked on Wednesday as their son Patrick was sworn in as a member of the U.S. Army in a brief ceremony.

Specialist Patrick Daley, 29, will undergo 20 weeks of training at Fort Benning, Ga., to become an Airborne-qualified infantry soldier. The young Daley attended West Point before dropping out in his freshman year and this summer earned a masters of business degree with honors from the University of Chicago.

Patrick Daley easily could have applied for officer's training but said he wants to start at the bottom as an enlisted man and serve his country.

Asked about serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, he said: "I think pushing yourself to try to get there, that doesn't make any sense... You're not going to say no because that's what your job is. If your unit's going, you go."