Iwo Jima Hero Jacklyn Lucas, a 16-Year-Old Medal of Honor Recipient

Feb 06 , 2026

Iwo Jima Hero Jacklyn Lucas, a 16-Year-Old Medal of Honor Recipient

Jacklyn Harold Lucas Jr. was sixteen years old when death found him first on the shores of Iwo Jima.

He didn't blink. He didn't hesitate. Before the grenade could rip through flesh and bone, Lucas threw himself onto it—twice. Two enemy grenades buried under a sixteen-year-old’s body.

Born to Fight, Raised on Faith

Jacklyn Lucas grew up tough, a Kentucky kid with a stubborn streak and a heart shaped by prayer. He lied about his age to enlist in the Marine Corps—just so he could get in the fight. The Marines wanted men, not boys. Lucas was both.

His mother had instilled in him an unshakable faith. “God is watching,” she said. He believed it. That belief became his shield in the inferno ahead.

“I don’t know why God picked me,” he admitted later, “but he sure did keep me around.”

Iwo Jima: Baptism by Fire and Sacrifice

February 20, 1945. The volcanic sands of Iwo Jima roared with shellfire and death. The 5th Marine Division stormed ashore. Lucas was barely out of boyhood but already a hard edge of steel.

He was a Private First Class, assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines.

The enemy was relentless. Grenades rained down in close combat.

Two grenades landed near Lucas and three fellow Marines. Without a moment’s thought, he dove on them. Twice. Each time absorbing the blast, each time protecting his squad.

The grenades tore through his legs and chest. Blood soaked the ash-gray sand. But Lucas lived.

He survived wounds so catastrophic even doctors declared him a miracle.

Medal of Honor: A Kid Like Few

For this unimaginable act, Jacklyn Lucas became the youngest Marine—and youngest U.S. serviceman—ever awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II.[^1]

His citation reads:

"During a fierce enemy attack, Private Lucas plunged upon two grenades to shield his comrades from the blast, sustaining grievous wounds but saving lives that might otherwise have been lost."

His commanding officer called him “the bravest man I have ever seen.”[^2]

Even decades later, fellow Marines recalled his courage as a beacon.

Scarred Survivor and Living Testament

Lucas carried scars—physical and spiritual—for the rest of his life. But the pain transformed into purpose.

He wrote in his own words:

"I was spared to serve, to tell the story of sacrifice, and to remind others what it costs to be free."

After the war, he became a firefighter, staying true to a life of service.

His faith never faltered. He saw his survival as a call to witness and redemption.

“Greater love has no man than this,” he once said, “than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

The Blood Never Dries

Jacklyn Lucas’s story is not just about heroism—it’s about the price of love and the weight of scars carried beyond the battlefield.

He lived with wounds that would haunt any man, but also with the honor of having stood between death and his brothers.

His courage was not flawless; it was raw, urgent, desperate—a young soul thrown into hell and tempered by faith and grit.

He is a reminder to veterans and civilians alike: bravery is not the absence of fear, but the surge towards sacrifice. Redemption isn’t given, it’s earned in blood and grace.

When you see that Medal of Honor, remember the boy under the grenade, the man who chose to be a shield.

He carried us all that day.

He still carries us.

"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)

[^1]: United States Marine Corps History Division, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II [^2]: James H. Steely, Award citation and official reports, 5th Marine Division archives