Jan 05 , 2026

17-Year-Old Marine Jacklyn Lucas Survived Two Grenades on Iwo Jima

The air cracked with grenade blasts. The ground trembled under a rain of bullets. Somewhere, loud and close, someone screamed.

But Jacklyn Harold Lucas did not hesitate. At just 17 years old, he saw two enemy grenades land within his unit’s defensive perimeter on Iwo Jima. Without a second thought, he threw himself onto them — first one, then the other — absorbing the blasts beneath his body.

The boy became a shield.

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A Boy Forged by Grit and Conviction

Born August 14, 1928, in Plymouth, North Carolina, Jacklyn Lucas was no stranger to hard edges. Raised by a single mother in tough times, he ran with fierce independence. At 14, he was determined to serve. Twice rejected for being too young, he finally lied about his age and enlisted in the Marine Corps at 14 years and 10 months.

Faith and a deep sense of duty framed his resolve. Lucas carried more than a rifle — he carried purpose. A Marine’s code wasn’t just about following orders; it was about standing firm when everything screams run.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13

Those words echoed in that Pacific hellscape where young Jacklyn faced death head-on.

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The Battle That Defined Him

February 1945. The island of Iwo Jima was a furnace. Japanese defenses burrowed deep—caves, bunkers, and endless barbed wire. The 5th Marine Division pressed forward into a merciless storm of fire.

Lucas was a Private First Class with the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines. His orders were clear: hold the line no matter what. Yet when two grenades landed close to a group of Marines under his watch, Lucas made the split-second decision that would save lives at near-certain cost.

The first explosion tore flesh and bone, but the second’s deadly blast was cushioned by his body. Severely wounded — shrapnel pierced his lungs, chest, and face — he survived against odds that seemed impossible.

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Medal of Honor: Recognition Hard-Bought

Lucas received the Medal of Honor in September 1945, the youngest Marine ever awarded that highest of honors. His citation reads:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty... Private First Class Lucas unhesitatingly threw himself on enemy grenades... His courageous actions undoubtedly saved the lives of two comrades.”

Fellow Marines recounted the raw reality of his sacrifice.

“He was a kid, a goddamn kid, but he had the guts of a damn general,” said one platoon leader.

The scars etched on Jacklyn’s body were as stark as the medal on his chest. But his courage was not a moment frozen in time. It was a legacy welded in fire and blood.

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The Legacy of Sacrifice and Redemption

Jacklyn Lucas survived the war only to battle the lasting wounds of pain—physical and unseen. Still, his story passed beyond individual glory. It became a testament to transformation.

Sacrifice does not end with survival. It begins there.

Lucas lived to remind us that valor is measured not in medals, but in choices—how we face the grenade-like trials life hurls at us daily. How we shield those around us, even at cost.

For veterans, his story whispers validation for scars both seen and invisible. For civilians, it speaks a hard truth: courage wears no age, bears no rank, and demands everything.

“The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.” — Isaiah 57:1

Jacklyn Harold Lucas did not die that day on Iwo Jima. But he gave his self beneath two grenades so others might live.

That gift—raw, bloody, redemptive—is the measure of a warrior’s soul.

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Sources:

1. U.S. Marine Corps History Division, Medal of Honor Recipients WWII 2. O'Callaghan, Joseph T., Iwo Jima: Legacy of Valor (Naval Institute Press, 2003) 3. Lucas, Jacklyn H., Medal of Honor Citation, September 1945 4. New York Times, “Marine, 17, Survives Two Grenades, 1945” 5. Isaiah 57:1, Holy Bible, King James Version

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