Jacklyn Lucas, Youngest WWII Marine to Receive Medal of Honor

Jan 23 , 2026

Jacklyn Lucas, Youngest WWII Marine to Receive Medal of Honor

Jacklyn Harold Lucas was a boy on a battlefield too brutal for his years, a name written in blood and grit before he even turned eighteen. At just 17, he hurled himself on not one—but two—live grenades to save his brothers in arms. Flesh torn, smoke choking the air, but that steel resolve? It never broke.

The Bone and Spirit of a Warrior

Born in 1928, down in the Carolinas, Jacklyn Lucas was no ordinary kid. Raised by a mother who nurtured both faith and boldness, the boy carried a code deeper than discipline—a faith forged in hardship, a battle-tested belief that courage and sacrifice held eternal meaning. He didn’t just want to fight; he wanted to protect, to honor the virtues that had been hammered into his soul.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps at 14, lying about his age—too young, but too determined. A boy among men, he carried a quiet fire, anchored by scripture and an unbreakable will. His faith wasn’t just prayer; it was purpose.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” — John 15:13

Iwo Jima: The Bloodied Baptism

February 20, 1945. The volcanic ash and gunfire greeted the 5th Marine Division as they hit Iwo Jima’s shores like hell unleashed.

Lucas was in the thick, barely 17, carrying a flamethrower—a weapon as deadly as it was vulnerable. The fight clawed through the sulfurous haze.

Suddenly, an enemy grenade landed among his squad. Without hesitating, Lucas slammed down on it—an act deaf to his own survival instinct. The grenade exploded beneath him, tearing his legs and back. He screamed, but he lived.

As the squad scrambled to treat him, no sooner had one grenade claimed his body than a second landed. Again, he covered it.

Two grenades detonated beneath his body. Two acts of savagery met with unmatched valor.

He survived that hellscape, shattered but unbroken, refusing to give in even in pain’s relentless grip.

Honoring the Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient

Lucas earned the Medal of Honor—the youngest Marine ever to receive it in World War II. The citation reads like carved stone, describing the “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

General Alexander Vandegrift said in praise: “Young Lucas’s actions saved numerous lives and exemplify the highest traditions of the Marine Corps.”

The award came with more than medals. It carried scars, lifelong disabilities, and a burden heavy enough to match his sacrifice.

Legacy Seared in Steel and Sacrifice

Jacklyn Lucas’s story is not one of youthful recklessness but of a stern, unwavering embrace of duty.

He was a kid who faced death head-on. Not because he sought glory—but because he chose others over himself. The boy grew into a man whose scars traced the line between mortal pain and immortal bravery.

His legacy reaches beyond medals and battlefield stories. It whispers a truth every warrior knows—courage is anchored in selflessness, faith, and a cause greater than personal survival.

Redemption Beyond the Battlefield

Combat doesn’t just take flesh; it carves the soul. Lucas bore his wounds, physical and spiritual, as testament to a truth older than war.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” — Psalm 147:3

His life reminds us that valor and redemption coexist. From the bloodied sand of Iwo Jima to quiet moments of reflection, Jacklyn Harold Lucas stands as a monument—raw, real, unyielding—to the timeless sacrifice of those who shoulder the worst so others might live.

We owe more than thanks. We owe remembrance.