While aspiring to be selected to the U.S. Naval Academy, David Wert thought he had prepared for everything. Then, came a soul-searching question from a military officer to open his interview.

"He looked me dead in the eyes and said, 'Have you ever thought about dying?' Wert recalled.

"If you had the chance to either die yourself or save one of your men's lives, what would you do?"

Surprised and startled from the blunt opening, Wert said he managed to utter he would do what's expected of military leaders. He'd do anything possible, he said, to save the lives of those under his command, even if it meant giving his own life.

Wert, 18, is on the path to become one of the nation's elite military leaders.

The recent Holy Redeemer High School graduate has been accepted in the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. He starts "Plebe Summer," the summer training program required of all incoming freshmen, at 9 a.m. Thursday.

The interview question, he knows, was meant to serve as a reminder that the prestige with being a military officer also comes with life-risking responsibilities.

"If I was directly responsible for these guys' lives - like it was me who told them what to do and put them in these situations - and they died, and I had to come back over here and think about it, I couldn't live with myself," Wert said.

It's not the kind of thought process most teenagers go through when planning their career, but Wert wouldn't have it any other way.

Wert, the son of Timothy and Claire Wert of Carlisle Street, Wilkes-Barre, dreamed of being accepted into the Naval Academy since middle school. His uncle graduated from the academy in the early 1980s and his grandparents, Margaret and Michael Koval, visited the campus during every home football game.

The first time they took him to a game he was impressed and pretty sure that's what he wanted to do in life.

"You saw how all the midshipmen acted - how they carried themselves. It was eye opening," Wert recalled. "I thought, 'I want to do this someday.'"

Over the years, Wert built the credentials to be a good candidate. He's an Eagle Scout and longtime altar server at his church. At school, he was a National Merit scholar, the vice president of his class, and president of schools National Honor Society. Wert also was a four-year letterman of the track and field team.

Wert was nominated to the academy by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton, though it was Barletta's nomination that was successful, he said.

The teenager is looking forward to wearing the nation's uniform.

"Growing up, my mother always pushed service to the community, service to the school and service to the church. It was always service, service, service," Wert recalled. "What better way to serve your community, and your country, than serve in the military. I get to continue doing my part."


570-821-2055, @cvbobkal