some Americans Still get it.

not everyone is Rutgers scm.

September 19, 2007 -- ARMY senior fullback Mike Viti knows he has a full plate. In fact, he was so concerned about taking on too much responsibility, he sought out the counsel of a West Point great, Pete Dawkins.

Dawkins, a former Heisman Trophy winner and Rhodes Scholar, told Viti he should try to be all he can be. Mission accomplished.

Viti is a team captain and one of just four regimental commanders at West Point. He told The Post because of football practices, games and travel, his regimental commander duties (he oversees eight companies and two battalions) and an 18-credit course load (“It’s the first time I haven’t taken at least 20 credits,’’ Viti said), he’s getting about four hours of sleep per night.

The heavy workload hasn’t affected Viti’s play. He has scored a touchdown in each of the past two games for Army (1-2), including a 3-yard run for a TD in Saturday’s 21-10 loss to Wake Forest.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Viti’s success is that he wasn’t born into a military household and initially didn’t see himself attending a service academy, much less become one of its leaders.

Both of his grandfathers fought in the Korean War, but his dad didn’t serve. Viti, from Berwick, Pa., was considering Villanova and Penn State. Then came the day that changed the world, certainly Viti’s: Sept. 11, 2001.

“I was in my world history class in high school my sophomore year and one of the teachers walked in and said there had been an accident,’’ Viti said. “I remember watching the second plane go into the tower and you knew then it was no accident.

“Then we heard about the plane hitting the Pentagon and the one that went down in Pennsylvania. I felt like my home was in the center of a triangle - New York, Washington and Shanksville. By the end of my junior year I made an unofficial visit to West Point and I knew then that this was the only place for me.’’

The American public has become all too familiar with the Triangle of Death, the region outside of Baghdad that has become the horrific area where so many servicemen have lost their lives or been injured. Viti knows he has committed to a life of service, and he has no reservations.

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