University of the West (UWest), the only accredited Buddhist university in Los Angeles County, graduated on May 15 a former Buddhist monk from Thailand who will use his training to become the second Buddhist chaplain in the US Army ranks.
First Lieutenant Somya Malasri, 39, of Rosemead, seemed an unlikely candidate for the US Army in 2001, when he arrived in the United States garbed in a saffron robe, the traditional attire of a Buddhist monk. Originally from a small village in Buri Ram province, Thailand, Malasri had been a Buddhist monk since...
