Jacklyn Lucas, 17-Year-Old Marine Who Saved Five at Iwo Jima

Dec 03 , 2025

Jacklyn Lucas, 17-Year-Old Marine Who Saved Five at Iwo Jima

Jacklyn Harold Lucas was 14 years old when war knocked on his door—not with civility, but with fire and fury. His arms barely could carry the weight of a rifle, yet his heart carried a soldier’s will. In a hail of grenades and gunfire on Iwo Jima, a boy became a man by laying down his body to save others. He tore the veil between childhood and sacrifice with raw, reckless courage.

The Boy Who Would Become a Marine

Born in 1928, Jacklyn Lucas grew up in Wyoming, a place where rugged landscapes forged tough men. But Jacklyn's toughness was more than skin deep. Raised with a fierce faith in God and a stubborn streak of honor, he believed that duty was not a suggestion—it was a calling. His was a code written not in ink, but in blood and prayer.

At age 13, Jacklyn tried to enlist in the Marines. Officially too young, he was turned away but kept the cause burning inside. By 1942, he forged documents that claimed he was 17. The Marine Corps accepted him. A boy with eyes too old for his years had become a rifleman.

Firestorm on Iwo Jima

February 1945. The black volcanic sands of Iwo Jima swallowed thousands of Marines each day. Jacklyn’s 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division, was in the thick. The Japanese defenders were dug like wolves in their caves and tunnels, lobbing grenades into the advancing American lines.

On February 20, Jacklyn’s squad was pinned down when two enemy grenades landed in the foxhole. With no time to think, the 17-year-old did the unthinkable: he dove onto the grenades, covering them with his body. The blasts tore through him, taking skin, muscle, and bone, but buying precious seconds that saved five of his comrades.

Two grenades. One boy. Five lives.

Despite injuries that could have killed a man twice his age, Jacklyn refused evacuation — he wanted to fight alongside his brothers. His wounds became a testament not of youthful recklessness, but sacrifice that defied fear itself.

The Medal of Honor: Recognition Carved in Flesh

On June 28, 1945, President Harry S. Truman awarded Jacklyn Harold Lucas the Medal of Honor. At age 17, he remains the youngest Marine ever to receive this highest of honors.

In his citation, Truman wrote:

“His great personal valor and gallantry saved the lives of fellow Marines at the risk of his own young life.”

Jacklyn’s heroism was deeper than battlefield bravado. His commanders remembered a Marine who carried faith like armor and grit like steel. One officer said, “He didn’t know fear. He believed in protecting his brothers at any cost.”

The bullet wounds, grenade burns, and shattered bones traced a roadmap of sacrifice that no decoration alone could measure. Yet the Medal of Honor became a symbol of raw, selfless courage.

Legacy of a Young Warrior

Jacklyn Lucas did not chase glory. After the war, he found purpose in telling his story not to boast, but to bear witness to the price of freedom. His scars told a story each generation must hear: that courage is not born from muscle, but a heart willing to sacrifice.

He once reflected:

“Somebody had to do it. I was lucky enough to be able to do it.”

His legacy is measured not just in medals, but in lives saved and hope kindled. A child’s innocence shattered in battle leaves behind an eternal flame — a torch carried by veterans who grasp both the tragedy and the redemption in sacrifice.

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

Jacklyn Harold Lucas made those words flesh and blood at a time when youth should have only glimpsed dreams. Today, his story remains a raw, red thread woven through the fabric of what it means to serve—something no generation can afford to forget.