Robert Owens joined the U.S. Marine Corps at age 16 by telling recruiters he was 18. Soon he would be joining the other young black men as part of the Montford Point Marines, a unit that was created after an order from President Franklin D. Roosevelt but still kept U.S. Marines segregated.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Owens discusses why he joined the Marines at such a young age, why his first day of training made him wonder if he had made a big mistake, guarding Japanese POW's on Guam after World War II, and what he sees as the legacy of the Montford Point Marines.
Robert Owens joined the U.S. Marine Corps at age 16 by telling recruiters he was 18. Soon he would be joining the other young black men as part of the Montford Point Marines, a unit that was created after an order from President Franklin D. Roosevelt but still kept U.S. Marines segregated.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Owens discusses why he joined the Marines at such a young age, why his first day of training made him wonder if he had made a big mistake, guarding Japanese POW's on Guam after World War II, and what he sees as the legacy of the Montford Point Marines.
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