Before he became a Marine, Ramos was studying at a monastery in Abiquiu, New Mexico, an isolated spot on a dirt road near the Chama River. After he serves his four-year tour in the Marines, Ramos said, he intends to return to his theological studies and become a monk.
His fellow Marines respect the life he has chosen, he said. "They totally understand. We are in war, but still God is watching over us."
Marine Lance Cpl. June N. Ramos, 32, displays the Communion wafers he carries. He has escaped serious injury more than once during his tour in Iraq.
(Jackie Spinner -- The Washington Post)
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He is not always in the holiest environment, Ramos said. The Marines around him swear and often take God's name in vain. But if he is to be a Marine chaplain, Ramos said, he has to live this life, has to know what the Marines have gone through.
"I can relate to them," he said. "It isn't that bad."
The hospital in Baghdad where Ramos recovered from the bomb blast in October had a special hallway reserved for insurgents who had been wounded and were being patched up by military doctors. Ramos said he was angry, hurt, in pain, but he decided to walk down that hallway.
"God told me not to be angry, " Ramos said. "I pretty much quoted what Jesus said on the cross. I prayed that they would know the real presence of God, that God would guard them and protect them."
He came back to his unit about two weeks ago, a man who had forgiven and was ready to fight again, Ramos said. He would not dream of being anyplace else.
"I trust in God and keep the faith," Ramos said. "If God is with me, who can be against me, right? Be not afraid, that's what I say."
