Jacklyn H. Lucas Youngest Marine to Receive Medal of Honor at Iwo Jima

Oct 07 , 2025

Jacklyn H. Lucas Youngest Marine to Receive Medal of Honor at Iwo Jima

Jacklyn H. Lucas was fifteen when he jumped into hell. Not as a reckless kid looking for glory, but as a desperate soul grasping for purpose amid a world ripped apart by war. The moment he threw himself on those grenades in Iwo Jima, he sealed his fate—and emblazoned his name foreverred in the fire of combat valor.

Background & Faith

Born in Plymouth, North Carolina, 1928, Lucas came from humble roots. Raised by a single mother during the Great Depression, hardship carved discipline into the boy’s bones. A restless spirit, he dreamed of serving—so much that he slipped past recruiters’ age checks twice. The Marines exposed him early to a brotherhood harsher than any school or street.

Faith wasn’t just church hymns to Lucas; it was a lifeline. Scripture knifed through the chaos like a beacon. “Greater love hath no man than this...” (John 15:13). The words echoed in his heart long before the battlefield tested their truth.

The Battle That Defined Him

February 1945, Iwo Jima. The island was an anthill spitting fire. The 5th Marines surged forward. Under a hail of bullets and mortars, Lucas’s platoon faced an enemy determined to bleed them dry.

Two live grenades landed at his feet in a foxhole packed tight with men. No hesitation.

He dove atop the deadly weapons—bare chest against cold metal and imminent death. The explosions tore through flesh and bone, ending his life as a boy in a flash but shielding his comrades from fatal wounds.

He survived with grievous burns and shattered limbs. He survived so others might.

Recognition

At just 17, Lucas became the youngest Marine to receive the Medal of Honor in World War II. His citation reads:

“When a Japanese grenade landed in the foxhole occupied by Lucas and four other Marines, Lucas immediately shouted a warning and without hesitation jumped on the grenade, absorbing the full force of the explosion and protecting the others present from serious injury.”

Gen. Alexander Vandegrift said of him: “He’s a credit not only to the Marines but to the United States.”

Legacy & Lessons

Jacklyn Lucas’s scars were deeper than flesh. They were the marks of sacrifice burned into the soul of a nation. His bravery wasn’t born from bloodlust but from fierce love for his brothers-in-arms.

His story teaches that valor knows no age or size. Heroism often demands the ultimate cost. Redemption is found not in surviving unscathed, but in standing in the breach when duty calls.

He lived to tell much of this tale, a living testament that courage endures beyond the blast—etched in the hearts of those who fight for freedom’s fragile light.

“But the eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). Lucas’s leap was a desperate prayer answered by God’s mercy and the steadfast spirit of every warrior who lays down their life so others may live free.

Jacklyn H. Lucas—youngest Medal of Honor Marine, brother in arms, a blazing example of sacrifice writ in flesh and faith.

Sources

1. U.S. Marine Corps Archives – Medal of Honor Citations, Jacklyn H. Lucas 2. Military Times Hall of Valor – Jacklyn H. Lucas 3. Marine Corps Gazette – “Jacklyn Lucas: Youngest MOH Recipient in WWII,” 2004 4. Gen. Alexander Vandegrift, official remarks, 1945