OCEANSIDE -- The only thing that could match Dick Baglien's desire to serve his country was his desire to serve God. It was a dilemma over which he agonized as World War II unfolded.

While stationed at Fort Jackson, S.C., the Army medic contemplated whether to act on the influence of his father, a National Guard colonel, and make the military a career or to follow the inkling he developed going to Sunday school and join the ministry.

You don't need to convince Baglien that the Lord works in mysterious ways.

His wife says it was at that time he began suffering from a horrible headache.

"He said it was the worst headache he ever had and he just couldn't shake it," Mavis Baglien said. "Then all of a sudden it went away and he said it was like angels were singing around him and then he knew.

"He asked me if I knew what choice he was going to make and asked me to write it down on a piece of paper," she recalled. "We both wrote the same thing."

The ministry.

Baglien, whose career in Christian service would last more than 50 years, died Jan. 22 following a long illness. He was 83.

Baglien was laid to rest Friday at Riverside National Cemetery.

"His biggest joy was bringing people to the Lord," his wife said. "Everybody knew him by his smile. He never met a stranger. He was friends with everybody. He could strike up a conversation on the spot with anyone."

Baglien came to Oceanside 11 years ago to retire after serving in several ministries, mostly in California. But prior to becoming an ordained Lutheran minister, there was the matter of a world war to fight.

Shortly after concluding that he would dedicate his life to God, he was shipped to the European Theater of Operations where as a member of the 87th Infantry Division he was assigned to Gen. George Patton's legendary Third Army.

His wife says he had several "close calls" while overseas.

"The Lord watched over him the whole time," she said.

A Jeep he was riding in blew up just after he exited. Then on his birthday he was caught in the middle of machine gun fire that killed the soldier next to him.

Baglien eventually was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge, his duties as a medic taking him to the front line. The battle was the last major Nazi offensive against the Allies in the war, a last ditch attempt by Hitler to split the Allies apart. Baglien survived, but was seriously injured by a shrapnel blast. He returned to duty less than a month later and received the Purple Heart.

"He really loved his country and he believed in serving his country," Mavis Baglien said. "He never really talked about his military life afterward until he got older and would tell his stories to the grandkids. He told them the war was a terrible thing, but that he was happy to serve his country."

Samuel Richard (Dick) Baglien was born March 25, 1925, in Hillsboro, N.D. He graduated from Hillsboro High School, where he met his future wife, Mavis Christianson. They were married in 1943.

Baglien was attending Mayville State College when he joined the Army at Camp Blanding, Fla. His basic training was performed at Fort Benning, Ga.

Following the war, he immediately enrolled at Riverside College. He had been a runner and football player in high school and hoped to return to sports in college, but his war injuries prevented that.

He then moved on to Redlands University, where he earned his degree, and then entered Augustana Seminary at Rock Island, Ill. He was ordained a Lutheran minister in 1951.

Later, he received his master's degree in religion from the University of the Pacific in 1964 and his Ph.D. from the California Graduate School of Theology in 1975.

He was certified by the American Association of Clinical Pastoral Education.

Baglien served in several ministries, taking him to such places as Fargo, N.D.; Stockton; Bakersfield; Camarillo; Santa Monica; and to downtown Los Angeles where for 14 years he was head of pastoral care at California Hospital Medical Center.

Upon retiring, he continued serving the Lord with Hospice of Orange County and as an interim pastor at various churches. His final contribution was serving Emmanuel Danish Lutheran church for three years during its transition from Los Angeles to Yorba Linda.

Baglien also was president of the World Missions Commission and the National Parks Ministry, and was chaplain of Palisades American Legion Post No. 283.

He was a dedicated swimmer and also enjoyed photography and traveling. He was an avid golfer until having hip surgery 5 years ago, a final reminder of his wartime injury.

Baglien was preceded in death by a son, Samuel Andrew Baglien. He is survived by his wife, Mavis Baglien; daughters Rosalie Lopez of Oxnard, Linda Baglien of Zhengzhou, China, and Rebecca Wilson of Stelle, Ill.; son Paul Baglien of Celina, Ohio; 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.