|
|
|
Raul Ries was born and grew up in Mexico City. “When
I was a teenager we moved to the United States and settled
in the Baldwin Park area, at which time my brother Xavier
and I proceeded to get into trouble with the police for stealing,
fighting and whatever. When I got out of high school I was
busted for beating a guy up pretty bad; my life was really
messed up.” The judge gave Ries the choice of going
to jail or going into the service, he chose the latter. “I
joined the Marines and went to thinking that I straighten
out my life completely, but I was wrong. After 6 months of
service I got orders to go to Viet Nam. Having been in Nam
a while, I joined a group called '‘The Bounty Hunters’
who search out and kill everything in sight. The government
caught up with us after a few months and I was kicked out
of Viet Nam. From there I was sent to a psychiatric ward to
try and determine why I had this craving for violence and
hurting people. This didn’t do me or the Marines any
good – especially due to my lack of cooperation; therefore,
I was put up for a dishonorable discharge.”
After a review of his case, Ries was given an honorable discharge
for not being able to adjust to military life. “I was
very happy that my discharge was an honorable one –
also because I was getting out two years early. I felt good
and soon after got married, thinking that I finally might
be settling down; unfortunately, I only got worse. I used
to constantly beat up my wife and I actually almost killed
her three times. I also started going out and getting into
trouble again and became extremely rebellious. For some reason,
I really don’t know why, I blamed God for my screwed
up life.”
CONTINUED...
|
|
|
|
|
© 2008 Kung Foo San Soo