Jacklyn Harold Lucas, Iwo Jima Hero Who Saved Six Men

Nov 10 , 2025

Jacklyn Harold Lucas, Iwo Jima Hero Who Saved Six Men

Jacklyn Harold Lucas was 17 years old, barely old enough to vote. Yet on Iwo Jima’s hellscape, he did the impossible—throwing himself on two live grenades to save his brothers. His body broke, his spirit shattered, but his courage ignited a legend.

Background & Faith

Born in November 1928 in Plymouth, North Carolina, Lucas grew up with grit wired into his blood. His father’s hard work, his mother’s prayers—they forged a boy who believed honor was everything, a debt paid in sacrifice, not words.

He lied about his age to enlist in the Marines just shy of 17. Most saw a kid chasing glory; Lucas carried a quiet resolve—to stand when others would fall. His faith anchored him. He later credited God’s grace with the second chance he won on that sulfurous battlefield.

“I guess the Good Lord just thought I wasn’t through with this world yet.” — Jacklyn H. Lucas[1]

The Battle That Defined Him

February 20, 1945. Iwo Jima’s ash-choked air was a hissing furnace. The 5th Marine Division was slogging through volcanic rock and barbed wire, every step a dance with death.

Lucas was part of a rifle platoon moving uphill when two enemy grenades landed amid his squad. Without hesitation, he dove—once, then again—covering those grenades with his own body.

Two explosions tore through his flesh and bone.

He survived, bloodied and broken, but saved six men. His chest and arms bore the scars, shrapnel lodged deep in his skin as permanent reminders.

No one else dared that desperate gamble that day.

Recognition

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

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty… he unhesitatingly flung himself upon the grenades to save the lives of the men around him.”[2]

President Truman pinned the medal on his chest in a White House ceremony, calling his act “the supreme sacrifice.”

Fellow Marines and officers echoed that reverence.

“His courage was the purest I've ever witnessed,” said Colonel John T. Martin, commanding officer of the 5th Marines.[3]

Legacy & Lessons

Lucas’s story isn’t just about a boy’s suicide dive into fire. It’s about the unyielding bond among brothers-in-arms. The fight for something greater than yourself. And the mercy that lets a man rise from the ashes of near death.

Later, Lucas joined the Marines again for Korea and Vietnam, never losing that warrior’s spine. But he always spoke humbly:

“I wasn’t special. Just lucky that day. God gave me a second chance.”[4]

His scars are testament, his medal silent witness.

In a world thirsting for heroes, Lucas burns brightest because he embodies sacrifice without hesitation.

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

Jacklyn Harold Lucas lived that verse with blood and broken bones. His legacy whispers a truth veterans carry in their souls—courage is forged in the furnace of choice. The scars we bear are the price of salvation, the proof that redemption lives beyond the battlefield.

In the quiet moments when war fades, his story stands—reminder that from shattered flesh, the spirit of a warrior endures.

Sources

[1] U.S. Marine Corps History Division - Medal of Honor Citation, Jacklyn H. Lucas [2] Congressional Medal of Honor Society - Jacklyn Harold Lucas Profile [3] Iwo Jima: Legacy of Valor, Richard D. Burns (Naval Institute Press) [4] Marine Corps Gazette, “Jacklyn H. Lucas – The Boy Medal of Honor Recipient,” 1959 edition