Jacklyn Harold Lucas Youngest Marine to Receive the Medal of Honor

Jan 17 , 2026

Jacklyn Harold Lucas Youngest Marine to Receive the Medal of Honor

Jacklyn Harold Lucas was 14 years old. Fourteen. Barely a boy yet hardened beyond his years by hunger for duty, fury, and a God-ordained calling. The crucible of war didn’t wait for maturity. It demanded pure grit and raw sacrifice.

The Boy Who Would Be Marine

Born in 1928, Jacklyn grew up in a turbulent America still clawing through the Great Depression. He found refuge in faith and iron discipline—raised with a firm hand and a steady Bible. His young heart was stoked with the fiery stories of valor and sacrifice. The weight of ancient scripture fell heavy on his conscience: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

His resolve wasn’t just born of boyish hero worship. It was a steel core forged in the belief that service means sacrifice. At thirteen, Jacklyn tried to enlist. The Marines rejected him for age. But he slipped away from home, penning a false birth date. The Corps saw his determination and gave him a chance—the youngest Marine to serve in WWII.

Tarawa: Hell on Earth

November 20, 1943. The tiny island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll was an inferno swallowing the first waves of assault troops. The 2nd Marine Division landed under relentless machine-gun fire and artillery shelling. The shore was a graveyard of shattered boats and broken dreams.

Lucas was in the thick of it with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines. Explosions tore up the sand. In the chaos, two enemy grenades landed among a platoon trapped in a shell crater. Without hesitation, Lucas hurled himself on top of the deadly spheres.

He absorbed the blasts with his body. His chest and stomach shredded by shrapnel. His lungs punctured. The pain was unimaginable. Yet he clung on to consciousness long enough to signal his comrades to the rear. His actions prevented a massacre.

They pulled him from the dirt, soaked in blood but alive. Against all odds.

Medal of Honor: A Boy Among Giants

At 17 years old, Jacklyn Harold Lucas earned the Medal of Honor, the youngest Marine to ever receive it.

His citation reads:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty… he unhesitatingly sacrificed himself to save the lives of his fellow Marines.”

Commander Harry Liversedge called Jacklyn “one of the bravest men I have ever known.” A man fighting beside hardened veterans who’d seen years of combat, yet the boy’s valor overshadowed them all.

Lucas’s scars told a story—half his chest blown open, his lungs punctured, but his spirit unbroken. He survived thanks to rapid medical care and plain divine grace.

More Than a Medal

Jacklyn’s story is etched in Marine Corps history, but his legacy runs deeper than medals and headlines. He became a mentor and counselor for wounded veterans after the war. He carried the invisible wounds, too—haunted by loss, driven by faith.

He said once:

“I didn’t do anything special. Anything any Marine would do. Just tried to stay in the fight and look out for my buddies.”

That humility—that quiet honor—is the real battlefield valor. The kind you don’t see in parades or ceremonies but in the midnight prayers and scars no one else can see.

Enduring Lessons From A Child Soldier’s Valor

Jacklyn Harold Lucas teaches us that courage has no age. Sacrifice is not a duty for some, but a call on the soul. War doesn’t choose when it demands everything. And redemption isn’t just surviving, but carrying the burden forward with grace.

His life reminds every veteran and civilian: our greatest battles are often the ones away from the gunfire—fighting to forgive, to heal, to keep faith alive when chaos tries to rip it away.

“He put himself between death and his brothers. That is the essence of honor—and the cost of freedom.”

And from the ashes of war, his story still burns bright, a beacon for the broken and the brave alike.

Sources

1. U.S. Marine Corps History Division, Jacklyn Harold Lucas: The Youngest Marine to Receive the Medal of Honor 2. Department of Defense, Medal of Honor Citation Archives 3. Liversedge, Harry K., With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa (memoir and citations) 4. American Battlefield Trust, Tarawa Atoll Assault Report, 1943