"I was the only priest those Marines would see for seven months." (Video Interview, 19:58)

William J. Muhm

William Muhm [2009] War: Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, 2001-present Branch: Navy Unit: Regimental Combat Team 1 (RCT) Service Location: Anbar Province, Iraq Rank: Commander

William Muhm first enlisted in the Navy out of college. He left the service for a career in accounting but soon heeded a call to enroll in the seminary. A Navy chaplain since 1998, Muhm served in Iraq's Anbar Province from January 2008 to January 2009. He had to cover a huge area of the province and was on the road every week he was deployed. His biggest challenge was avoiding discouragement when the men were too preoccupied to attend Mass. At the time of his interview, Father Muhm was at Annapolis as Catholic Chaplain of the Naval Academy, also dealing with a large work load but under less trying circumstances.