Jacklyn H. Lucas
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| Jacklyn Harrell Lucas | |
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| February 14, 1928 – June 5, 2008 | |
  Medal of Honor recipient |
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| Nickname | Jack |
| Place of birth | Plymouth, North Carolina |
| Place of death | Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Marine Corps; United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942-1945; 1960s |
| Rank | Private First Class |
| Unit | 1st Battalion 26th Marines |
| Battles/wars | World War II *Battle of Iwo Jima |
| Awards | Medal of Honor (1945) Purple Heart |
Private First Class Jacklyn Harrell Lucas (February 14, 1928 – June 5, 2008) was a United States Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the Iwo Jima campaign — for unhesitatingly hurling himself over his comrades upon one grenade and for pulling another one under himself. One of the grenades exploded, and Lucas absorbed the entire blasting force of it with his own body and his helmet.
Private First Class Lucas, the youngest Marine ever to receive the United States' highest military decoration, was presented the award by President Harry S. Truman at the White House on Friday, October 5, 1945.
Lucas died of leukemia on June 5, 2008 at the age of 80 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
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[edit] Early years
Jacklyn Harrell Lucas was born in Plymouth, North Carolina on February 14, 1928.[1] He attended high school at nearby Salemburg and was captain of the football team. He was an all-around sportsman, also taking part in baseball, softball, basketball, boxing, wrestling, horseback riding, trap and skeet shooting, and hunting.
[edit] Marine Corps service
Although only 14 years of age, having a muscular build, 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall and weighing 180 pounds (82 kg),[2] he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve without his mother's consent[2] on August 6, 1942. He gave his age as 17, and went to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina for recruit training.
During his rifle training, Pvt. Lucas qualified as a sharpshooter. He was next assigned to the Marine Barracks and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. In June 1943, he was transferred to the 21st Replacement Battalion at New River, North Carolina, and one month later he went to the 25th Replacement Battalion, where he successfully completed schooling which qualified him as a heavy machine gun crewman.
He left the continental United States on November 4, 1943, and the following month he joined the 6th Base Depot of the V Amphibious Corps at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He was advanced to private first class on January 29, 1944.
With statements to his buddies that he was going to join a combat organization, PFC Lucas walked out of camp on January 10, 1945, wearing a khaki uniform and carrying his dungarees and field shoes in a roll under his arm.
He was declared absent without leave (AWOL) when he failed to return that night and a month later, when there was still no sign of him, he was declared a "deserter", and a reward was offered for his apprehension. He was also reduced to the rank of private at that time.
He stowed away on board USS Deuel which was transporting units of the 5th Marine Division into combat. He surrendered to the senior troop officer present on February 8, 1945 dressed in neat, clean dungarees. He was allowed to remain, and shortly after he was transferred to Headquarters Company, 5th Marine Division. He reached his 17th birthday while at sea, six days before the heroic actions at Iwo Jima, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
On the day following the landing at Iwo Jima, he was creeping through a twisting ravine with three other men of his rifle team when the Japanese opened a hand grenade attack on them. The men jumped into two shallow foxholes. Lucas pushed a thrown hand grenade into the volcanic ash and covered it with his helmet and his body. He was left for dead by his companions, although he was miraculously still alive. Severely wounded in the right arm and wrist, right leg and thigh, and chest, Pvt. Lucas had undoubtedly saved his companions from serious injury and possible death.[1]
He was evacuated to the hospital ship Samaritan, and then treated at various field hospitals prior to his arrival in San Francisco, California on March 28, 1945. He eventually underwent 21 surgeries. For the rest of his life, there remained about 200 pieces of metal, some the size of 22 caliber bullets, in Lucas' body — which set off airport metal detectors.[3]
The mark of desertion was removed from his record in August of that year while he was a patient at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Charleston, South Carolina. He was discharged from the Marine Corps Reserve because of disability resulting from his wounds on September 18, 1945, following his reappointment to the rank of Private First Class.
On October 5, 1945, Lucas and 14 other sailors and Marines (including Pappy Boyington) were presented the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman. In attendance at the ceremony were Lucas' mother and General George Patton, Admiral Chester Nimitz, and Secretary of Defense James Forrestal.[3]
In addition to the Medal of Honor, PFC Lucas was awarded the Purple Heart; Presidential Unit Citation; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one bronze star; American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.
On August 3, 2006, Lucas, along with 15 living Marine Medal of Honor recipients, was presented the Medal of Honor flag by Commandant of the Marine Corps General Michael Hagee. The presentation took place at the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C. in front of over 1,000, including family, friends, and Marines. Lucas said of the ceremony, "To have these young men here in our presence — it just rejuvenates this old heart of mine. I love the Corps even more knowing that my country is defended by such fine young people."[4]
He died at a hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on June 5, 2008 of leukemia with wife Ruby by his side. He had earned a business degree from High Point University and had also later served in the U. S. Army in the 1960s a as paratrooper to conquer his fear of heights. He survived a training jump in which both parachutes did not open.[1]
[edit] Medal of Honor citation
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS JACKLYN H. LUCAS
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:
- For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the First Battalion, Twenty-sixth Marines, Fifth Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands 20 February 1945. While creeping through a treacherous, twisting ravine which ran in close proximity to a fluid and uncertain front line on D-plus-1 Day, Private First Class Lucas and three other men were suddenly ambushed by a hostile patrol which savagely attacked with rifle fire and grenades. Quick to act when the lives of the small group were endangered by two grenades which landed directly in front of them, Private First Class Lucas unhesitatingly hurled himself over his comrades upon one grenade and pulled the other one under him, absorbing the whole blasting force of the explosions in his own body in order to shield his companions from the concussion and murderous flying fragments. By his inspiring action and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice, he not only protected his comrades from certain injury or possible death, but also enabled them to rout the Japanese patrol and continue the advance. His exceptionally courageous initiative and loyalty reflect the highest credit upon Private First Class Lucas and the United States Naval Service.[5]
/S/ HARRY S. TRUMAN
[edit] See also
- List of Medal of Honor recipients
- List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
- List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Battle of Iwo Jima
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Marine Who Got Medal of Honor at 17 for WWII Service Dies at 80. Fox News via AP (June 05, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ a b Lucas, Indestructible.
- ^ a b Standring.
- ^ Revere, Cpl David, USMC (August 4, 2006). 26 Marine Heroes Presented With Medal of Honor Flags. American Forces Press, U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
- ^ "Medal of Honor — PFC Jacklyn H. Lucas", Marines Awarded the Medal of Honor.
[edit] References
- Lucas, Jack H.; D. K. Drum (2006). Indestructible: The Unforgettable Story of a Marine Hero at the Battle of Iwo Jima. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81470-6. OCLC 68175700.
- Lucas, Jack. Interview with Ed Tracy. Medal of Honor Series. Tonight at the Pritzker Military Library. World War II Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana. November 11, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
- Standring, William (Summer 1996). "The Story of Jack Lucas". Marine Corps Magazine.
- United States Marine Corps. Medal of Honor — PFC Jacklyn H. Lucas (Medal of Honor citation). Marines Awarded the Medal of Honor. Archived from the original on 2007-01-02.
- United States Marine Corps, History Division. Private First Class Jacklyn Harrell Lucas, USMCR. Who's Who in Marine Corps History. Retrieved on 2007-10-26.
This article incorporates text in the public domain from the United States Marine Corps.
