God and Country

Infobox Television episode | Title = God and Country
Series = Touched by an Angel
Season = 4
Episode = 19
Airdate = March 15, 1998 (CBS)
Production = 418
Writer = R.J. Colleary and Glenn Berenbeim
Director = Bethany Rooney
Prev = Breaking Bread
Next = How Do You Spell Faith?

"God and Country" is the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of the CBS drama series "Touched by an Angel." Alexis Cruz appears as Rafael in this episode.

Plot

Rafael (Alexis Cruz) joins the army to meet Tomas (Vincent Laresca), a bitter officer. Later, Tomas gets in a fight with another officer and Rafael tries to break it up, and accidentally punches his assignment. Tomas and Rafael are punished by Colonel Victor Walls (Edward James Olmos), who turns out to be Tomas' father.

One night, Tomas' family gets bad news from Andrew, saying that their son Paul was killed saving other soldiers' lives, making him a hero...which is all Victor seems to care about. The next evening, Victor walks to his office to find his son Tomas with a pistol, ready to shoot himself once he finds out his father is hiding something in an envelope. Tomas runs off, and Victor tries to find him. Victor then sees Monica as an angel saying that he should tell the truth to his family.

Victor and Tomas head home, and Victor tells the family that he sent Paul to where he was killed, but had no intention in wanting him to die out there. Crushed, Tomas leaves. Tomas runs to the barracks and tries to kill himself again, but Rafael appears as an angel and takes the gun away from him. Rafael says his father needs forgiveness from him.

At Paul's funeral, Tomas unexpectedly shows up. This is when Victor starts crying during his speech. The father and son hug each other as the fanfare plays.