Roland Barrios, of New Orleans, was 17 when he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.  Two years later, he landed on Iwo Jima with the 5th Marine Division.

". . . I landed on the second day.  And all they had on the beaches was dead marines.  You couldn't see a dead Jap.  Mortar shells, machine gun fire, rifle fire.  It was terrible.  They had us all zeroed in. . . . It was like shooting ducks in a barrel."

A Roman Catholic, Barrios wore this cross on his dog tag chain.  He attended mass near the front lines during the fighting.

"Believing in God and my religion helped me tremendously. . . . We would pray for [buddies] to get over their wounds or pray for their souls.  At night in the foxholes we each had to stand a watch and I would sit and recite my rosary or say different prayers for God to help us.  Actually, I think [the war] deepened my faith.  You got a lot of fear in you but also if you believe in God, that's what keeps you going.  Without that belief in God I don't think you could make it." 1