Jacklyn Lucas, Medal of Honor Teen Who Took Two Grenades at Tarawa

Nov 18 , 2025

Jacklyn Lucas, Medal of Honor Teen Who Took Two Grenades at Tarawa

Jacklyn Harold Lucas was seventeen when he threw himself on two grenades, saving lives and earning the Medal of Honor. Not the bloodied hand of age. Not years of battle-hardened experience. Just raw guts and pure instinct. The youngest Marine in WWII to receive America’s highest military honor wasn't fiction or legend—he was a boy caught in hell, clutching the enemy’s fire in his bare hands.

A Boy from Virginia Worn by War and Faith

Born in November 1928 in Plymouth, North Carolina, Lucas grew up rough and restless. His home was fractured, a young boy searching for purpose. He ran away at 14, landing in the Marines with a forged birth certificate. “I figured this is where a man earns his bones,” he later said.

Faith was stitched into his soul long before combat. A church-going boy, he clung to scripture that steeled his nerves. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) It wasn’t empty words. For Lucas, they were a code. A mission.

Tarawa: The Fiery Crucible

By November 1943, the 19-year-old had made his way to the Pacific Theater, part of the 2nd Marine Division assaulting the hellscape of Tarawa atoll in the Gilbert Islands. The island was a fortress—1,000 Japanese defenders fighting to the death in tightly-coiled bunkers behind coral reefs.

The Marines suffered staggering losses. Amid the deafening blasts, thick smoke, and surf stained with blood, chaos reigned. The young jackrabbit found himself moving forward — always forward. It was here, in the hellfire of the beaches, that Lucas made his fateful move.

“I saw two grenades land in the foxhole where three Marines and I were hunkered down. Without hesitation, I dove on them,” Lucas recounted years later.

The first grenade exploded beneath his chest, the second buried in his side. His body took the brunt. Miraculously, he survived. His guts ripped open, his back broken, but the four men in the hole walked away.

Heroism Etched in Flesh and Medal

His wounds were severe — third degree burns covered 40 percent of his body, alongside fractured bones. Doctors didn’t expect him to live. But Lucas beat odds only faith and iron resolve could conquer.

His Medal of Honor citation issued in 1945 reads:

“Despite grave wounds, PFC Lucas exhibited exceptional valor...he absorbed the force of the grenades, saving the lives of his fellow Marines.”

Commanding officers marveled at his gallantry. Col. Jesse L. Gibney called him a “young man with a heart as big as the ocean.”

Lucas’s body bore scars from Tarawa for the rest of his life—a stark reminder of a day where innocence was shed in a marine’s blood.

Enduring Legacy of Courage and Redemption

Jacklyn Lucas lived long after his wounds healed. He never boasted, never sanitized the horror. Instead, he carried a quiet message:

Courage is not free. It’s carved from pain and choice.

He returned home, found peace as a firefighter and a storyteller to new generations. Not seeking glory, but truth.

As he once said, “Bravery is doing what’s right, not what’s easy.” His life embodied that creed.

The legacy of Jacklyn Harold Lucas is not just in medals, but in the silent vow soldiers keep: to stand in a brother’s gap, even when swallowed by fire.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9

His story lives in every scar and every stand taken on battlefields past, present, and future—reminding us all that sacrifice is the raw currency of freedom, and love sometimes means the ultimate cost.

Sources

1. Naval History and Heritage Command, Medal of Honor: Jacklyn H. Lucas 2. Marine Corps University Press, Tarawa: The Bloodiest Battle 3. Walter R. Borneman, Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills (context on Marines’ mindset and Pacific war) 4. Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Jacklyn Harold Lucas Citation and Oral History