Jacklyn Lucas, Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient at Iwo Jima

Oct 05 , 2025

Jacklyn Lucas, Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient at Iwo Jima

Jacklyn Harold Lucas was just seventeen when hell broke loose around him. Two grenades rolled onto a foxhole where he’d just scrambled into cover — cold metal tumbling closer, death whispering his name. Without hesitation, he dove on them, body a shield against screaming steel. Flesh and blood over comrades’ lives. That is how you earn a place beside the gods of valor.

Born of Grit and Grace

Raised in North Carolina by a single mother after losing his father early, Lucas’s childhood was a struggle etched in hardship. Poverty carved deep lines, but a stubborn sense of righteousness ran through his veins. He lied about his age, risking black jails and court-martials to enter the Marine Corps at just fifteen. A kid in a man’s war — fueled by a conviction that bigger men fought for something worth dying for.

Faith, while unspoken in the firefight, never left him. Later interviews reveal a man who trusted God's hand unseen in the chaos around him. “I was there for a reason,” he reflected, echoing the Psalmist:

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress.” — Psalm 18:2

The Battle That Defined Him: Iwo Jima

February 20, 1945. The island was hell incarnate — volcanic ash, enemy fire, the shriek of bullets and artillery like the gates of hell breaking open. Pfc. Lucas was barely out of boot camp and assigned to the 1st Battalion, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division. His unit hit a fever pitch of combat on the beachhead.

In the smear of smoke and dust, two enemy grenades landed inside Lucas’s foxhole. Without hesitation — no calculation — he threw himself on top of them. The detonation slammed his body into the sand, the explosion ripping flesh and shrapnel. His arms were nearly torn off at the elbows. His chest shattered.

Recognition Etched in Blood

Lucas survived. Miracles were rare that day, but Lucas was one. His Medal of Honor citation, signed by President Truman, recounts his heroism:

“Pfc. Lucas threw himself upon the grenades, absorbing the full blast with his body to protect three other Marines in the foxhole.”

Despite severe injuries, he lived. The youngest Marine in history to receive the Medal of Honor, just seventeen years old.

His commanding officers said it best. One wrote: “I never saw a man so young, yet so decisive and courageous. He saved lives that day.”

Legacy Born in Sacrifice

Jacklyn Lucas carried his scars for life. They weighed heavier than the medals. But his story transcends the wounds. It’s a testament to raw courage, a young man who chose sacrifice over survival.

In his later years, he spoke less of glory and more of the cost, urging a new generation to remember the price that freedom demands. Not just valor in the moment, but perseverance in the aftermath.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13

Jacklyn Harold Lucas’s story is carved into the bones of America’s legacy. Not as a myth, but as a flesh-and-blood reminder — courage is born in the moment you step into the fire, and faith is forged amid the scars you carry home.

Sources

1. Naval History and Heritage Command, Jacklyn H. Lucas — Medal of Honor Recipient. 2. The American Legion Magazine, Jacklyn Lucas: Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient of WWII. 3. United States Marine Corps Archives, 1st Battalion, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division After Action Reports.