Since suicide jets struck New York and Washington, Dexter Daily Statesman reporter Jonathon Dawe has been on the front lines of helping his Missouri Bootheel newspaper's readers understand it all.

Now, the 25-year-old with a wife and young son is ready to serve on the front lines of America's war on terrorism, if need be.

Reflecting a patriotic swell that has inundated military recruiters in Missouri and Kansas, Dawe has signed on for a one-year trial hitch in the National Guard as a former Army guy inspired to do something for his country since the Sept. 11 attacks.

"On one hand, I'd like to stay here and keep an eye on my family; on the other, I'd like to go over and do my job," he said Friday, three days after signing up. "If that's what it takes to keep the country going and on its feet, that's what I'm prepared to do." Military recruiters say that's been the theme since hijackers plowed planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, prompting U.S. pledges to retaliate in what the Bush administration has said could be a drawn-out global assault on terrorism.

Throngs of veterans have sought to rejoin, including a 62-year-old man graciously turned down at a Navy recruiting center in Topeka, Kan.

"It has been something tremendous," Army Sgt. Demetrius Latimer said of the surge in visits and phone calls to her St. Louis recruiting office from prospects. Since the attacks, Latimer estimates that inquiries there have jumped 20 to 30 percent, with most pledging "that if we go to war they want to serve their country, no questions asked."

Across Missouri and Kansas, those in their 20s ready to defend the stars and stripes are being joined by many somber veterans of Vietnam - even World War II - willing to again answer Uncle Sam's call.

Specific recruitment numbers in Missouri and Kansas are not readily available; an Air Force spokesman said "it could take weeks, maybe months to see if there's a true impact." Still, many recruiters liken the heightened interest to that seen during the Gulf War.

"I would say it's really reassuring to see those types of things," said Sgt. Richard Beckett, an Air Force spokesman for a region covering parts of Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas. "That's pretty much the case for all military members right now."

Visits to a commercial Web site run for U.S. military personnel and veterans has spiked two to four times its typical traffic, Anne Dwane said Friday for Military Advantage, the San Francisco company that runs 18-month-old Military.com.

"Frankly, we've never been this busy," Dwane said of site that links visitors to recruiters and military-related Web sites, offers news about military benefits and sells military items.

In Topeka, visits and phone calls to a Navy recruiting station have jumped as much as 40 percent since the attacks, a recruiter there said. Actual signups have risen about 10 percent, given that many of the applicants failed to qualify because of medical, educational or other issues, he said.

All military branches require recruits to be at least 17 years old, have a high-school diploma, pass a basic aptitude test and complete a full physical.

Processing time - from walk-in to military training - can take as little as 10 days. A separate delayed-entry program allows military administrators to perform background checks on recruits.

While many of prospects "are mad right now and want to take care of business" immediately, basic training and instruction on their eventual military jobs could take several months to a year, said Gary Bloomfield of the Kansas City-based recruiting battalion covering Kansas and Missouri's western half.

"They think they're going to join today and fight tomorrow. It doesn't work that way," he said.

At the Topeka site, prospects often have been Navy veterans in their 40s and 50s - and the 62-year-old former Navy air-traffic controller - "wondering if there's anything they could do to get back in," the recruiter, who asked that his name not be used, said.

In Wichita, Kan., Navy recruiter Shawn Smith said the number of calls to his office thanking the branch for its service has risen since the attacks, as have the veterans trying to join. "But as far as qualified applicants, we haven't seen any change in that number," he said, declining specifics.

At an Air Force recruiting site in Kansas City, Staff Sgt. Ryan Noorlander has seen a 50 percent spike in interviews since Sept. 11, including large numbers of veterans of Vietnam and Korean wars - even World War II.

"For the most part, they want to help out and let us know they're here if the country needs them - that they're ready to go back," Noorlander said. When it comes to the military, "I think it's beautiful to see Americans coming together again and starting to be receptive."

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