Fox Chase triplet brothers all pursue military careers

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Jim, Charlie, and Bobby Crossfield are 18-year-old triplets, all seniors at Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia, and all pursuing careers in the military.

"It's important for us to give back to a country that's afforded us so many freedoms," explained Jim Crossfield.

Jim will study aerospace engineering at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis.

"The opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself is just something I was always interested in," Jim told Action News.

Jim is the oldest. Charlie was born next and then Bobby came five minutes after that.

Bobby is headed to the United States Military Academy at West Point and hopes to become a physician's assistant or a nurse.

Charlie is enrolling in the Navy Reserve Officers' Training Corps at Penn State with plans to study nuclear engineering.

"It's second nature. No one had to tell me to do it. It's just something that's instilled in me," he said.

Bobby added, "It definitely runs in the family."

And it seems that is the case. Their two older brothers joined ROTC. Their father, a firefighter, was a first responder on 9/11 and served in the Air Force. The boys have family members who fought in World War I. Yet, they say they never felt pressured to pursue this path.

"I just really wanted to give back to my country. It didn't feel like, I necessarily had to do it. It's something I really wanted to do," said Bobby.

They have a school community cheering them on.

The triplets are involved in a myriad of sports and extracurricular activities including starting the American Heroes Club with a friend, that gives back to the community.

Principal Joseph McFadden is proud of them.

"To see this level of service that they definitely got from their teachers-they got it from their parents originally. Everything they want to do involves a sense of giving back," said McFadden.

Next year will be a bit of a change for the boys. They will be at different schools in different states, but Jim exclaimed that they are ready for it.

"It will be like the first time- I guess ever- that I will be away from them, but I think they prepared me well as a person," he said.