Jacklyn Harold Lucas, Youngest Marine Awarded the Medal of Honor

Dec 10 , 2025

Jacklyn Harold Lucas, Youngest Marine Awarded the Medal of Honor

Jacklyn Harold Lucas was fifteen years old when he stood between two live grenades and his fellow Marines. No hesitation. Just muscle and raw courage. The world blurred into a narrow, hellish moment — then silence bruised by explosions. His body took the blast. His soul bore the scars. This was a sacrifice forged in fire, unmatched in its purity.

The Battle That Defined Him

It was February 20th, 1945. The Pacific war still burned on Iwo Jima’s black volcanic sands. The island had become a killing ground of mud, smoke, and shattered bone. Lucas, then a kid with a face still somewhere between boy and man, fought alongside Marines in the 5th Marine Division.

The fighting was close, brutal. Japanese forces struck with deadly desperation.

In the chaos, two grenades landed near his unit. Without thought, Lucas dove on top—covering the explosives with his own body. Twice.

The first grenade slammed into his chest, ripping muscle and shattering ribs. Pain tore through him, but he remained conscious. Then came a second grenade.

He threw his body over it as well.

His guts, his flesh—torn. His mind, steel.

Medics found him barely alive. “He was a miracle,” said those who saw the aftermath. Though bleeding and broken, Lucas survived the unimaginable. His actions saved dozens of lives that day¹.

Blood, Faith, and the Youngest Marine

Born in 1928, Lucas drilled into the Marine Corps before he could even enlist legally. He fibbed about his age—just sixteen when he joined. That drive came from a sense of duty and something deeper. A belief that some sacrifices must be made.

Raised in poverty, Lucas’ faith was raw and direct. The pages of his Bible were worn, his prayers whispered in the still hours of the night. He lived by a warrior’s creed tempered with redemption. The Lord is my strength, he would later recall, quoting Psalm 28:7 as his foundation in the fire.

This faith didn’t make the war easier—it made him endure. It gave purpose to pain.

The Medal of Honor and Words That Echo

For his valor, Jacklyn Harold Lucas became the youngest Marine—and the youngest World War II serviceman—ever awarded the Medal of Honor at just seventeen years old².

His citation speaks in somber tones:

“Out of youthful exuberance and an unselfish spirit, Private First Class Lucas deliberately threw himself upon two grenades, absorbing the fragments and saving the lives of at least two fellow Marines."

Generals called him a living testament to heroism. Fellow soldiers saw raw grit in his eyes despite the boyish frame. His scars told a story no medal could fully capture.

The most piercing tribute came from his commanding officer:

“That kid’s heart beats with the courage of a hundred men.”

Beyond the Medal: A Legacy Etched in Blood and Grace

Lucas’ story is not just about youthful valor. It’s about the brutal cost of war—on body, soul, and heart.

He survived with 239 pieces of shrapnel in his body. He carried the pain everywhere—under the skin and in memory until his passing in 2008³.

But he lived to tell the tale—not for glory, but to remind us what sacrifice truly means. To remind us the battlefield is not a place for innocence, but for grace.

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

Lucas gave us that truth, raw and unvarnished.

We owe a debt not just to the famous battles or medals, but to the boy who chose to bleed so others wouldn’t.

Jacklyn Harold Lucas’ courage is a roar in the silence—a testament that courage doesn’t wait for age, and sacrifice doesn’t ask for consent.

His story refuses to end in a shallow tribute. It demands remembrance. Demands reflection.

And above all—it demands honor.

Sources

1. Naval History and Heritage Command, Medal of Honor Citation for Jacklyn Harold Lucas 2. Marine Corps History Division, Youngest Marine Medal of Honor Recipients 3. Michael E. Ruane, Washington Post, “Jacklyn Harold Lucas, 1928-2008: Youngest Medal of Honor Winner in WWII Dies”