Jacklyn Harold Lucas, Youngest Medal of Honor Marine at Iwo Jima

Dec 30 , 2025

Jacklyn Harold Lucas, Youngest Medal of Honor Marine at Iwo Jima

Jacklyn Harold Lucas was seventeen years old when he did what most seasoned warriors couldn’t fathom. A body thrown over two live grenades falling amid tangled foxholes, willing to pay the ultimate price so others might live. He absorbed the blast. Twice. More than a dozen wounds, broken bones, the fire of death licked him clear—yet he lived. The youngest Marine ever awarded the Medal of Honor, a name carved into the marrow of WWII’s grim legacy.

Youth Forged in Humble Soil

Jacklyn Lucas was born in 1928, in Plymouth, North Carolina, a place where grit ran in the veins of working men and women. Raised by a single mother’s relentless faith and an unwavering sense of right, he learned early that honor wasn’t given; it was earned. God above all else – a steady compass in the chaos.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 14 by lying about his age. The Corps didn’t turn away a boy who carried the fire of a lifetime soldier. His faith marked him, a quiet strength underpinning reckless courage. Psalms 23 whispered in his heart:

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."

Iwo Jima: Baptism by Fire

February 19, 1945. Iwo Jima burned under a hellish sky. The air was thick with smoke, shrapnel, and screams. Jacklyn Lucas found himself in the chaos of Red Beach. With only a fraction of his years behind him, he fought like a man three times his age.

The first grenade landed.

Without hesitation, Lucas dove on it, arms spread wide, shielding others. The explosion shattered his ribs and ears, ripped skin from muscle. Unyielding, he refused evacuation, stayed to help comrades drag wounded from the gunfire maw.

Minutes later, fate delivered a second grenade—closer, even deadlier. Again, he dove, this time fully aware he might not live through it. He was badly wounded but still breathing when Marines scrambled to drag him to safety.

He stared death down and blinked.

Honors Born From Valor

Jacklyn Harold Lucas’s Medal of Honor citation reads not just like a report, but a testament to merciless courage:

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty... by diving on two grenades which had been thrown into his grenade pit, thereby saving the lives of at least two fellow Marines."

His wounds numbered more than two dozen. He spent years recovering from shattered bones, multiple surgeries, and infections. The military doctors called it a miracle. President Harry S. Truman pinned the Medal of Honor on his chest in a quiet White House ceremony, a moment heavy with solemn pride.

Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith later called Lucas “the bravest Marine I’ve ever met." From the youngest recruit to a legend, his story was a lifeline to every Marine who came after.

Legacy of the Youngest Marine

Lucas’s scars tell a story deeper than medals and headlines. They speak of sacrifice bare and brutal. What does it mean to give every ounce of your being so others might breathe? Lucas lived on, a quiet reminder that heroism is less about glory and more about the raw edges of pain and love for fellow man.

He carried the fight beyond the battlefield. A speaker in schools, a mentor to veterans. His life was a testament to redemption, walking wounded yet whole in spirit.

In the words of Romans 12:1, a call to offer ourselves fully:

"Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

Jacklyn Harold Lucas did not choose fame. He chose to be a shield. A young Marine stepped into hell so others might see dawn. In every scar, every prayer, every steady breath — there is a story about the blood price of freedom.

To remember him is to remember what we owe those who dare to stand before the storm. They are flesh of our flesh, broken but unbowed, carrying the legacy of sacrifice in every heartbeat.