Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient Overcomes Adversity in War

On October 5, 1945, President Harry S. Truman awarded the Medal of Honor to Jacklyn Harrell Lucas, making him the youngest recipient since the Civil War. At just 14 years old, Lucas had taken the extraordinary step of forging his mother’s signature to enlist in the Marine Corps. His journey to this prestigious honor is marked by courage, determination, and a series of remarkable events.

Born on February 14, 1928, in North Carolina, Lucas faced significant challenges early in life after the death of his father when he was just 11. This loss inspired him to adopt a tough demeanor, leading him to military school. The attack on Pearl Harbor intensified his resolve to serve. Lucas recalled, “That very day a cold chill ran down my spine. I just became obsessed that I had to do something.”

Lying about his age, the young Lucas enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and was trained at Parris Island. By late 1943, he had joined the Fifth Amphibious Corps at Pearl Harbor, but his true age was discovered shortly thereafter, resulting in a year of rear area duties. Frustrated by his lack of combat experience, Lucas took matters into his own hands.

In early January 1945, he stowed away on the USS Deuel, bound for the battle of Iwo Jima. Lucas later admitted, “I didn’t even know where the ships were headed. I knew I was on the way to war — and that’s what I wanted.” After a month of hiding aboard the ship, he turned himself in and was marked as a deserter, but still allowed to join his fellow Marines.

On February 19, 1945, as hostilities erupted on Iwo Jima, Lucas, now 17, found himself in a perilous position. He was part of a four-man fireteam tasked with navigating a treacherous ravine near the front lines when they encountered heavy enemy fire. Lucas faced a critical moment when his rifle jammed, which inadvertently saved his life and that of his comrades.

In a split-second decision during a deadly attack, Lucas leapt onto one grenade and pulled another under him, absorbing the full force of the explosions to protect his fellow Marines. His heroic act resulted in over 250 pieces of shrapnel embedding in his body. Despite being believed dead by his unit, he remained conscious and was discovered by another Marine who called for help.

The Navy corpsman who arrived managed to fend off a Japanese soldier attempting to throw another grenade, allowing Lucas to be evacuated to a hospital ship. According to the National World War II Museum, he underwent a staggering 26 operations to remove shrapnel from his body. Although he regained use of his arm through extensive physical therapy, Lucas was discharged from the Marine Corps in September 1945 due to his injuries.

Lucas’s Medal of Honor ceremony took place shortly after his recovery. “Of course I had to go home and see my girlfriend and get some lip sugar, but Mr. Truman called me and interrupted my plans there,” he humorously recounted. His bravery and resilience were officially recognized, and the mark of desertion was removed from his record.

In the years following the war, Lucas ventured into business and later re-enlisted in the Army in 1961, where he trained as a paratrooper. He faced further life-threatening situations, including a near-fatal parachute malfunction during a training jump, which he attributed to his robust physique and a last-minute roll that saved his life.

Lucas’s life was filled with stories of survival, including a harrowing encounter in 1977 when he narrowly escaped a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by his then-second wife. He chronicled these experiences in his memoir, titled Indestructible.

Jacklyn Harrell Lucas passed away from leukemia on June 5, 2008, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at the age of 80. His legacy as a symbol of bravery and sacrifice endures, reminding us of the extraordinary courage displayed by those who serve in the armed forces.