Before the age of 20, Bernie Ruchin had survived the Great Depression and 45 days of field combat against the Japanese on the island of Siapan in the Pacific Ocean.

On Monday, Oct. 2 ­ 61 years after World War ll ­ Ruchin, 81, reminisced with three other former Marines in a special BCTV broadcast of “Warriors, Defenders of Freedom.”

Host Mike Robinson brought together U.S. Marines Jack Lucas of North Carolina, the youngest soldier to ever receive the Medal of Honor; Bernie Ruchin of Bedford; Bill Bouthiette of Manchester; and Robinson’s father, Bill Robinson of Florida.

The men spoke of fighting in battle, the dropping of the atomic bombs that ended the war with Japan and what it means to be a Marine.

Ruchin enlisted at the age of 18, after fulfilling a promise he made to his mother.

“She wouldn’t sign until I graduated from high school,” Ruchin said.

He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Regiment and, like many young men of his era, he was ready to fight the enemy who bombed Pearl Harbor.

His unit’s first mission was to take the beach of Saipan, where they faced raging civilians ­ men, women and children ­ armed with long bamboo spears with bayonets on the end.

“There were 3,000 of them. They came at us fast,” Ruchin said. “How do you combat that? You fight with your fists and a knife. It’s done to intimidate and overwhelm the enemy with yelling and screaming. I survived to tell about it. A lot of guys didn’t.”

The Marines secured Saipan but saw heavy casaulties.

“In combat, your heart is pumping and as the battle rages on, you take another step forward,” he said. “You’re numb, but you’re looking out for your buddy and each other. That’s the Marine code.”

The Battle of Saipan lasted from June 15 to July 9, 1944.

One night in 1945, after patrolling the secured island of Saipan, Ruchin and his unit saw a lot of civilians ­ an uncommon sight on the air base, he said.

“We wondered what these people were doing there,” he said. “We had heard rumors of an atomic attack and these were the people who developed the atomic bomb.”

On Aug. 6, 1945, the atomic weapon “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay, a U.S. Air Force B-29 bomber, which was altered specifically to hold the bomb.

The bomb killed 80,000 people and heavily damaged the Japanese city. In the following months, more people died from injuries or radiation poisoning.

The second bomb, “Fat Man,” attacked Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945.

On BCTV, the four former Marines said although many civilian lives were lost, the dropping of the bombs was necessary.

“Because it shortened the war and saved thousands of of lives,” said Bill Robinson, a member of the 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Battalion, 21st Regiment K-Company. “It was a life-saver for me.”

In response, his son said, “And for me, too.”

Bill Robinson, 80, enlisted the day after the Pearl Harbor attack at the age of 18, and served on the island of Iwo Jima.

Bouthiette, 83, became a Marine through circumstance.

He and some friends stood two days in a row in a line that wound around a Manchester city block. On the second day, a recruiter made a suggestion.

“An Army guy came over and said, ‘You guys, if you want to be Marines, that line is much, much shorter.’ And that’s the line I went on,” said Bouthiette.

He served through three battles until suffering injuries from a motor-round assault.

Lucas also saw heavy combat and was honored with the Medal of Honor for heroism. Saying he was 18, he forged his mother’s signature on the consent form and the 14-year-old was off to war.

“She didn’t sign for me but she didn’t turn me in either,” Lucas said.

When he heard about the planned invasion of Iwo Jima, he left his unit, stowed away on a ship and talked his way into taking part in the landing.

While in combat, the Japanese threw two grenades at Lucas’ unit. He grabbed one in his hand, threw the other into volcanic ash and dove.

The grenade under him did not go off, but the blast from the ash sent shrapnel flying, leaving Lucas gravely wounded.

He was six days past his 17th birthday.

On Oct. 5, 1945, he was invited to the White House by President Harry Truman to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. Lucas’ autoboigraphy, “Indestructible,” details his life and war experiences.

During one battle, Ruchin was flat on his back in the dirt as a corpsman was holding his left eye open and a doctor was extracting scrapnel with an sharp instrument.

“The doctor was saying ‘Don’t blink, don’t blink’ But, when someone is coming at your eye like that, it’s natural to not hold still,” Ruchin said. “I few years ago, I had laser surgery to correct scar tissue. I feel pretty good now.”

Ruchin also served as a head guard at a Japanese prisoner of war camp and was a member of the Pacific War Tribunal on Guam.

“We tried them on war crimes, cannibalism and other attrocities,” he said.

All the anger and animosity is behind him, though, he said.

“You can’t blame the sins of the fathers on the sons,” he said.

After the war, Ruchin began his career as a New York state trooper, combatting thiefs, murderers and thugs. In the 1950s, however, he was recalled by the Marines to fight in the Korean War.

It wasn’t until four years ago that he decided it was time to tell his part of the story of the Pacific campaign of World War ll.

“When we pass on, history revisionists will tell our story and it’ll be wrong,” said Ruchin. “I want to tell my experiences as I experienced it.”

Not joining the on-camera discusssion were Marine Paul Boisvert of Manchester and Army nurse Betty Quinn of Manchester, a recipient of the French Legion of Honor. The two veterans, however, attended a reception prior to show’s taping.

The Marines have more stories to tell. For show times, visit http://www.bedfordtv.com/.