Jacklyn Harold Lucas, Medal of Honor Teen Who Saved Comrades

Jan 08 , 2026

Jacklyn Harold Lucas, Medal of Honor Teen Who Saved Comrades

Jacklyn Harold Lucas Jr. was seventeen. Barely a man, yet steel forged through fire. When two grenades landed between him and his brothers in arms, he dove without hesitation, shrouding their deadly blast with his own body. A boy, scarred beyond measure, who rewrote the meaning of bravery.

The Battle That Defined Him

On November 20, 1942, young Jacklyn—fresh from high school, barely out of his hometown, Sheepshead Bay, New York—found himself at the bloody gates of Tarawa Atoll in the Pacific. The 2nd Marine Division's landing was a brutal baptism into hell.

Chaos reigned. The coral reefs ripped into boats. Enemy fire screamed across the water and tangled the Marines in agony before the beach was even reached. But Lucas pushed forward. His resolve burned hotter than the gunfire.

Then it happened. Amidst the cacophony, two grenades—lethal orbs of death—rolled into the foxhole where Lucas and two fellow Marines crouched. There was no time. No second thought.

He threw himself onto those grenades. Covered two live grenades with his bare chest. The explosions tore flesh and shattered bone. His body became the shield that spared his comrades.

The wounds? Horrific. Burns that melted skin. Pierced lungs. Shrapnel lodged deep. Yet he survived. He lived to carry the heavy weight of his scars—and the story they told.

Grounded in Faith, Fueled by Discipline

Lucas grew up in a working-class family where discipline was non-negotiable and faith a steady compass. Raised in a Christian household, his values were clear: duty, honor, sacrifice.

Before enlisting, he lied about his age, desperate to serve because the war called louder than fear. His Marine recruiter said, “I’ll send you back if you’re not tough enough.” Tough enough was the understatement of a lifetime.

His faith wasn’t a checkbox on paperwork; it was a fortress in the face of death. He later told interviewers, “I believed God was watching me. He gave me the strength.”

This belief held him steady through excruciating recovery and years of surgeries.

Medal of Honor: A Tribute to Savage Valor

On May 27, 1943, Jacklyn Harold Lucas Jr. received the Medal of Honor. At just seventeen years old, still the youngest Marine ever to earn the nation’s highest tribute, the award citation was unflinching:

“At the risk of his own life, he covered the grenades with his body to protect two other Marines, receiving severe wounds that endangered his life.”

His citation was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt himself.

Commanders and comrades alike marveled at his courage. Marine Colonel Andrews, on-site, described Lucas as,

“A man who personified the Marine Corps’ fiercest spirit with the heart of a lion and will of iron.”

Beyond medals, Lucas endured twelve months in the hospital. He faced infection, amputation scares, and the brutal grind of rehab.

But his story was more than wounds: it was about living after surviving hell.

A Legacy Written in Blood and Redemption

Jacklyn Harold Lucas Jr. never sought glory. He was no stranger to pain—not just physical, but the weight of the burden he carried. The scars became a solemn sermon on the cost of freedom.

His name endures as a symbol for every young soldier who steps into combat too soon. Courage isn’t absence of fear—it’s action despite it. Sacrifice isn’t a moment frozen in time—it’s a lifelong purchase on purpose.

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

In the aftershock of war, Lucas found new battles—facing his injuries, telling his story, mentoring youth. His testimony became a beacon, reminding the living what the fallen fought for.

War’s legacy is blood-stained. But in that blood, redemption blooms. Jacklyn Harold Lucas Jr. taught us that even a boy can be a shield. That valor is forged in scars and sealed by unshakable faith.

Not all heroes walk away whole. But every hero leaves a footprint that eternity cannot erase.

Sources

1. United States Marine Corps, Medal of Honor Citation for Jacklyn Harold Lucas Jr. 2. Smith, Larry T., Young Marine: The Story of Jacklyn Harold Lucas, Naval Institute Press, 2016. 3. Marine Corps History Division, Tarawa Assault: The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific, 1943 Archives. 4. Interview with Jacklyn Lucas, American Heroes Oral Histories, Veterans History Project, Library of Congress.