Dr. John “Ray” Christopher, whose herbal formulas cleared the path for the renaissance of alternative medicine in the US, was also a conscientious objector and an apostle of racial harmony, years ahead of his time.

When World War II broke out, and just a few months after the Christopher’s were married, Ray received a draft notice on his doorstep summoning him to active duty. A 35-year-old man, divorced and newly married, with two families to support, he reported for service but requested status as a conscientious objector, presenting his Word of Wisdom booklet as evidence of his firm beliefs.

“I’ll serve my country with pride on the front lines,” he said, “I’ll carry stretchers that can save people. But I will not carry a gun. I cannot kill another human being.” During basic training, he was told to carry a gun on night watch, but he refused. The officer thrust a night stick at him, but he shook his head, and refused to carry a night stick, too, because you could kill people with a night stick. The officer ordered Ray to be confined to quarters under guard till next morning, when he was tried for his rebellion. The officer hearing the case slapped his palm sharply on the table and shouted, “This is ridiculous! A conscientious objector that won’t carry a nightstick? What if everyone in the world felt as you do?”

“Then there would be no war” Ray answered.

“That’s the answer I needed,” the officer responded. “Take this card. It shows that you are a conscientious objector, and no one will challenge you again.”

From Fort Douglas, Utah, Ray traveled to North Fort at Washington’s Fort Lewis, where he was assigned to supervise a medical dispensary. Here was more irony­ Raymond Christopher, a buck private, gave orders to pharmacists and therapists, all of whom outranked him. Even the cleaning boy outranked him. Ray, in charge of the entire operation, served under a Major Shumate.

At first Ray felt frustrated and angry. Having learned and seen so much healing using natural methods and nutrition (he had all ready helped many people), here he was confined to use standard medical treatments. He knew that there are better ways. He saw cases among the soldiers that he knew would quickly respond to natural treatments. However, Major Shumate was firmly against any such treatments. So he spent his time observing the effects of orthodox medications, seeing first hand the futility of the treatment. He saw that standard medicine only treats symptoms instead of the cause of disease. But one day a soldier came to the dispensary with a supposedly incurable condition, and this changed the course of his life.

At a staff meeting, composed of the heads of eight dispensaries, Major Shumate, a private dermatologist in civilian life, said he had never seen a case of contagious impetigo so severe. The soldier had been hospitalized nine times, where his case had cleared up temporarily, but it always flared up when he was released. Specialists from the eastern U.S. had been called in, but nothing had worked.

Major Shumate brought the soldier in, and’ except for Ray, they all gasped with horror. The soldier’s head had been shaved as much as possible, but wherever the stubble of hair grew, the scalp was covered with a crusty scab nearly an inch thick.

“What a beautiful case of impetigo!” exclaimed Ray (who had never seen one quite that bad).

“You must be a born doctor,” said Shumate, slapping him on the shoulder, “It’s one of the most amazing things I have ever seen, too. But unfortunately, we have to release this man from the army.”

“I object to that!” cried the soldier, “I came into this army a clean man. I caught this thing while I was here, and now you’re asking me to take this filth home to my wife and children. I won’t do it.”

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing more we can do,” responded Shumate, “We’ve done everything possible. We’ve used every cure medical science has to offer, and nothing has worked. We have to give you a release, and it will be an honorable discharge.”

“Wait,” Ray said. “That man can be healed.”

Shumate whirled to face him. “None of your blasted herbs!” The other officers rolled their eyes and guffawed.

The soldier spoke up. “I should have something to say about this. I don’t care if he puts horse manure on my head, as long as he heals me.”

Shumate paused, and then said, “All right. If you sign papers releasing the government and the army from any liability, you can try this treatment.”

The papers were signed, and the soldier was placed under twenty-four hour military police surveillance to prevent escape. As the meeting broke up, one of the officers jeered, “When will the big unveiling be?”

“Monday morning!” Ray snapped back, without really thinking. Then he realized­ he just had one week. Here, far from home without the herbs that he generally used, he had to treat the worst case of impetigo he had ever seen. Immediately he called a Salt Lake friend who had a black walnut tree in his backyard. He explained his dilemma, and his friend agreed to gather the black walnut husks, even though the ground was covered with snow. They were transported overnight to Fort Lewis. Ray picked them up in the morning­ sopping wet, which could weaken their potency. Not only that, but Ray only had rubbing alcohol, not grain alcohol, which was not available through the army medical system. And instead of fourteen days to macerate the tincture, he figured he could take only two days. He carried the tincture with him, shaking it vigorously all the time.

At last he strained the tincture and made a compress to fit over the soldier’s head like a football helmet. He left instructions that the compress should be kept wet with the tincture for the rest of the week. He also wrote a prescription to the mess sergeant, for wholesome foods for the soldier to eat.

All too soon Monday morning arrived, and the dispensary heads all met, ready to ridicule Ray for his herbal treatments. “Everybody ready?” asked Shumate in a mocking tone. “Private Christopher, are you ready to show us your miracle?”

“I’m ready,” responded Ray, feeling nervous but determined. “I haven’t seen him yet, but we’ll take a look.”

The guards ushered the soldier in, and Ray skillfully cut away the adhesive tape. As he lifted the compress off, the scab came off with it, and the soldier’s scalp was as clean and pure as a baby’s. The impetigo was gone, with no scarring.

The officers all gasped. Shumate shouted; “I’ve never seen anything like this in all my medical practice!” He took Ray aside. “I’ve misjudged you, Private Christopher,” he admitted. “From this day on you have full permission to practice with herbs. Set yourself up a laboratory here. Do whatever you like as long as you’re under my jurisdiction at Fort Lewis.”

And with that Ray became the only practicing herbalist in the United States Army during World War II. His black walnut tincture became famous, not only to cure impetigo, but for fungus infection and jungle rot. When soldiers learned that Private Christopher could cure jungle rot, his patient load multiplied tenfold. Eventually this tincture was successful in curing scrofula, eczema, ringworm, shingles, and chronic boils.

During his time at the dispensary, Ray started his personal search for an herb that could relieve his own serious health problem, high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries, which he had suffered since adolescence. He began working with cayenne, which is high in calcium and vitamin C. He found that cayenne is one of the best remedies for the heart. He saw that it restores and retains the elasticity of the blood vessels, correcting or preventing hardening of the arteries and preserving the health of the circulatory system. Ray also found that cayenne equalized blood circulation and brought blood pressure to normal. He even found that cayenne was powerful enough to stop a heart attack in progress. In later years, carrying cayenne in his herbal doctor’s bag, he never lost a person to a heart attack. He remembered one woman who had suffered from heart problems for eighteen years. She had taken powerful heart medication for more than seven years. After starting cayenne , she was able to stop this medication within months. Her varicose veins also completely cleared.

Soon Ray added ginger, parsley, golden seal, garlic and Siberian ginseng root to cayenne to create a formula called Blood Circulation Formula , which equalizes blood pressure and builds the health of the circulatory system. This formula, along with a healthy diet and lifestyle, prolonged Ray’s own life many years after the doctors’ predictions. At age 45, ten years after the doctors predicted he would die, Ray had a full physical examination. The doctors were astounded to see that he had the blood pressure of a healthy teenager. Just before his death, Ray’s blood pressure at seventy years was that of a young man in his twenties.

During World War II, racial prejudice was still rampant. Ray began to understand and feel the distress of the black soldiers who were treated so negatively at the dispensaries. Black soldiers often suffered physical agony in silence rather than go there. But soon word spread that the dispensary head at Fort Lewis was different; within months he was seeing dozens of black soldiers every day. They received kindness as well as the superior care from herbal treatment.”