Marine Life

Rob Miller is a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps commanding a weapons platoon in "Charlie Company" of the First Battalion, Eighth Marines. He led his men recently in the battle of Fallujah, and in a recent satellite phone call, he told This American Life contributing editor Jack Hitt (who also happens to be his uncle) what we never seem to hear elsewhere: Details of what it's like to fight house-to-house in urban warfare. One of the weirdest moments in the recent battle of Fallujah? Hearing the psy-ops unit blast funky 1970s music across the city as Rob's battalion began its push. All he could think of, he says, was the movie Full Metal Jacket. (15 minutes)