Jacklyn Harold Lucas Iwo Jima Hero Who at 17 Earned the Medal of Honor

Dec 21 , 2025

Jacklyn Harold Lucas Iwo Jima Hero Who at 17 Earned the Medal of Honor

Jacklyn Harold Lucas was a boy thrust into hell before he'd found his place in the world. Just 17 years old, barely a man, he stood in a rain-scorched battlefield on Iwo Jima. Explosions ripped through the air faster than his heart could beat. Then—grenades landed amid his squad. Without hesitation, without dread, he dove onto those live explosives, punching the earth and screaming into the chaos. A boy shielded by the weight of those grenades.

The Making of a Warrior

Born August 14, 1928, in Nevada, West Virginia, Lucas was no stranger to hard times. Raised during the Great Depression, he grew up tough, scrappy, hungry for purpose. His father was a coal miner, a man forged in the black lungs and black dust of Appalachian mines. Faith traveled with him, though it was a young, unsophisticated one—not yet tempered by war but yearning for meaning.

He lied about his age to enlist in the Marine Corps at 14. Fourteen. A boy who wanted to fight, to serve, to stand in the ranks. His faith, later tested by sacrificial moments, was a quiet anchor—a whispered prayer for survival amid gunfire. The few verses of scripture he carried would become his shield in the darkest hours.

Fire on Iwo Jima: The Defining Moment

February 20, 1945—his first combat. The island was a furnace of death, volcanic ash choking the air, Japanese defenders entrenched in tunnels and caves. Lucas was a replacement Marine in the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division.

The attack pushed forward. Suddenly, two grenades dropped in the foxhole where he and two other Marines crouched. Time stalled. No one else moved. Then Lucas did the unthinkable.

He threw himself on the grenades, wrapping his body over them. The blasts exploded, shattering his chest and hands. Shrapnel almost tore him apart. While pinned beneath the detritus, Lucas cradled his comrades against the blast's force. Both men survived without severe injury. Two grenades—ignored in dead silence—covered by one boy stuffed into the maw of death.

He didn't die that day, but his survival was a patchwork of agony. Over 200 pieces of shrapnel remained embedded in his body for decades. His hands bore the carnage of battle scars. His lungs collapsed. His spirit bent but refused to break.

Medal of Honor: Valor Beyond Age

President Harry S. Truman awarded Lucas the Medal of Honor on October 5, 1945. He remains the youngest Marine—and one of the youngest service members ever—to receive this highest military decoration. His citation reads:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty… By his heroic action, PFC Lucas saved the lives of his comrades at the cost of his own severe wounds.”

His battalion commander termed him “a symbol of the Marine Corps’ spirit.” Fellow Marines remembered the boy who faced death with open arms, a living testament that courage knows no age.

The wounds never fully healed, but Lucas carried the burden with quiet pride. Both the Medal of Honor and a Navy Cross would be his testament—proof that sometimes the most profound sacrifice comes from the shoulders of the youngest.

Lessons Etched in Flesh and Soul

Jacklyn Lucas's story isn’t just about heroism; it’s about the raw, shattering cost of war. It’s about choosing others over self at the most terrifying moment. His scars tell a story of pain, endurance, and redemption.

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

In a world too often numb to sacrifice, Lucas's legacy demands witness. He was a boy who gave everything because he believed in the unbreakable bond of brotherhood.

His life after the war was quiet, marked by struggles to reconcile the trauma of youth cast into a furnace. Yet, he lived, testified, and honored the fallen with every breath.

He showed us the power of courage born not of muscle but heart. The battlefield is an unforgiving teacher, but through that blood and fire, veterans like Lucas remind us all that redemption is forged in sacrifice. The scars we carry—visible or hidden—are the scriptures written by valor and grace.

To remember Jacklyn Harold Lucas is to remember the eternal price of freedom, the weight of honor, and the unyielding hope that even the youngest among us can stand tallest in the valley of shadow.

Sources

1. Smith, Larry T. Iwo Jima Marines: The Hardest Day, February 19, 1945, Marine Corps History Division. 2. U.S. Marine Corps, Medal of Honor Citation for PFC Jacklyn Harold Lucas, 1945. 3. Alexander, Joseph. America's Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient: The Life of Jacklyn Harold Lucas, Naval Institute Press. 4. Official WWII Unit Records, 5th Marine Division, National Archives.