Young Marine Jacklyn Lucas Survived Two Grenades at Iwo Jima

Feb 26 , 2026

Young Marine Jacklyn Lucas Survived Two Grenades at Iwo Jima

Jacklyn Harold Lucas was just 17 when a grenade’s death whispered in his face. He didn’t flinch. Instead, he dove onto the blast. Twice. His body took two separate grenades that blew him into hell and back. He lived—bearing searing scars, but sparing his comrades. This was no reckless kid. This was a warrior forged by faith, grit, and a code written in blood.

Boy from Sheepshead Bay: Faith and Honor

Born in 1928 in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Jacklyn Lucas grew with the hard edges of a working-class kid. Raised by a family steeped in Protestant faith, his soul carried the weight of scripture and a fierce moral compass. Before he hit the beaches of Iwo Jima, he’d tried to sign up at 14—two years too young, rejected but relentless.

His grandfather, a WWI veteran, taught him that courage isn’t silence of fear but action despite it. The Bible resonated with him deeply—verse by verse, it stitched purpose to pain: “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)

Iwo Jima: Where Time Stood Still and Hell Broke Loose

February 19, 1945, the sands of Iwo Jima burned under relentless fire. Jack Lucas fought with the 1st Battalion, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division. Barely out of boyhood, on day two of the invasion, enemy grenades rained death.

Two grenades landed among the men in a foxhole. Lucas made a gut-wrenching, instantaneous decision: the lives of his comrades mattered more than his own flesh. When the first grenade rolled in, he threw himself on it, cupping it to his chest. Shock waves tore metal fragments through his body. Before the dust settled, a second grenade landed. With fading strength, he dove, absorbing this blast too.

He was knocked unconscious, covered in shrapnel, his jaw shattered, eyelids gone, face mangled. Yet he survived.

Medal of Honor: The Nation Honors a Boy Warrior

President Harry S. Truman awarded Jacklyn Lucas the Medal of Honor—the youngest Marine to ever receive it. His citation read, in part:

"While acting as a guide for his platoon, [Lucas] suddenly saw two grenades dropped near a group of Marines. Without hesitation, he threw himself on the grenades and absorbed the entire blast, saving the others from death or serious injury."

Marine Corps Commandant General Alexander Vandegrift called Lucas:

"a young man whose courage more than compensates for his youth and inexperience."

Despite his wounds, Lucas insisted on returning to combat once recovered. He never stopped embodying the warrior’s creed.

Legacy of Sacrifice and Faith

Jacklyn Lucas carried more than scars; he bore a legacy of selflessness, courage, and steadfast faith. His story rejects the notion that heroism waits for age or rank. It demands action when seconds count. Lucas taught us that the cost of bravery is always paid in full—sometimes with flesh and blood.

His life reminds veterans and civilians alike that bravery isn’t about grand speeches or parades. It’s a raw testament—a whispered prayer in the chaos of war. He lived by Psalm 34:19:

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

His name etched into Marine Corps history isn’t a monument to violence, but to redemptive sacrifice. To each man who bears scars from the battle, Lucas’s story offers this hard truth: your pain carries the weight of brotherhood. Your scars tell a story—inspired by faith, sealed in courage, and remembered in honor.

Brothers-in-arms, remember Jacklyn Lucas. Not for the medals, but for the moment he chose another’s life over his own without hesitation. For in that instant, true valor was written.