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Rafael's Motives Are Often Questioned

Chaplain Rafael Lantigua is a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He's an Army brat so he grew up with the military.

Lantigua converted to Islam the same week he shipped out to basic training. 

He has served for more than 20 years in the military and been deployed three times, all of them to the Middle East or Afghanistan. 

Despite a combat record, he tells us he is often confronted with questions about his identity, especially since 9.11.  He tells us the story of where he was on that tragic day.

This story was recorded October 10th at the San Antonio Museum of Art as part of Worth Repeating. The theme of the night was "Because How I Am: stories of identity, how the world sees us and how we see ourselves."

Paul Flahive can be reached at Paul@tpr.org