Jacklyn Lucas, 17-Year-Old Marine Who Earned the Medal of Honor

Feb 11 , 2026

Jacklyn Lucas, 17-Year-Old Marine Who Earned the Medal of Honor

Jacklyn Harold Lucas Jr. was 17 years old when he hurl himself onto not one, but two live grenades—to save the lives of the Marines around him. No hesitation. No thought for himself. Just raw guts and a heart beating with something bigger than fear.

Blood and Steel: The Making of a Young Warrior

Born in 1928, Jacklyn Lucas grew up rough—purple hearted by hard knocks but tempered with faith. His mother’s prayers ran deep, even as the world raged louder. He lied about his age to enlist in the Marines in 1942, barely a man by any measure.

Minor wounds never slowed him. There was a code in that boy’s bones—never leave a brother behind. Scriptures like Psalm 18:2 echoed in the backdrop of his life:

"The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer."

He soldiered not for glory but for purpose. For family. For something sacred.

The Battle That Defined Him: Iwo Jima, February 1945

It was the inferno of Iwo Jima — volcanic ash choking the air, enemy fire cutting through the salt air, Marine brothers pinned down, hope thinning with every minute. Lucas was with the 1st Marine Division, a private second class, but his spirit was forged from steel.

On February 20th, under death’s shadow, an enemy grenade rolled among the group. Without a second thought, Lucas dove on it—his chest pressed into the dynamite. The blast ripped into him, tearing flesh and bone. The pain didn’t stop him.

Almost immediately, a second grenade landed close. Lucas—blinded, beaten, numb—covered that one too with his body.

He survived. Against every odd. Thirteen pieces of shrapnel buried across his body. Wounds that would’ve broken most men broke nothing in him but skin.

His Medal of Honor citation lays it bare:

“Demonstrated conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

Recognition: Medal of Honor and the Voice of Command

He received the Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman, the youngest Marine ever to earn the nation’s highest military decoration. Jacklyn Lucas, barely a man, stood not as a victim but as a victor— a testament to raw courage.

General Holland M. "Howlin’ Mad" Smith called him:

"One of the bravest men I’ve seen on the battlefield."

His fellow Marines whispered stories of the boy who died twice but never gave up. His scars—a map of survival. His story—etched in the annals of military valor.

Legacy Etched in Sacrifice

Jacklyn Lucas’s birthright wasn’t age or rank; it was sacrifice. The moral clarity of a kid clear-eyed in chaos. He teaches us that courage isn’t born—it’s chosen.

He carried battle wounds with the same quiet dignity he bore life’s hardships. His life after the war never gripped headlines or fame, but the weight of his actions carried on, whispered in every Marine’s creed, every battle hymn.

"Greater love hath no man than this," (John 15:13) and Lucas lived that love in its rawest, fiercest form.

Jacklyn Harold Lucas Jr. shows us what it means to be truly fearless—not when bombs fall around you, but when you make the agonizing choice to stand in the fire for another man’s breath.

His story, soaked in blood and faith, demands we remember: true valor is sacrifice without second thought. And that legacy? It’s the final, unbreakable armor for anyone who fights life’s hardest battles.

Sources

1. Marines.mil, Medal of Honor Recipients: Jacklyn Harold Lucas 2. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Citations, World War II 3. "American Valor: The Medal of Honor," Michael Stotter, Crown Publishing, 2007 4. President Harry Truman Presidential Library, Medal of Honor Award Ceremony Transcript