Born in Alabama, Joe Rodgers lied about his age to join the U.S. Marine Corps in the weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Training for most of 1942, Rodgers first saw combat at Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands in 1943. Later, he fought at Saipan and Iwo Jima.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Col. Rodgers describes his first combat experience and takes us into the Battle of Iwo Jima in great detail. He describes being pinned down on the beach, being a runner in a deadly area, the brotherhood among Marines, and both the stubborn resistance and the greatest weakness of Japanese soldiers.

Don't miss this engaging oral history from USMC veteran Joe Rodgers.