Americans have consistently, and notably been determined to serve our country when the need arises...We are mostly aware of men like Audie Murphy because of the fame he earned as a beacon for call to arms during WWII, but others continue to pop up from anonymity such as Jack Lucas...Two days ago the US Navy commissioned its newest Arleigh Burke-class destroyer the USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125) named for the youngest Medal Of Honor recipient of WWII...A mere lad of 14 when our nation was attacked by Japan in 1941, he let his anger seethe until the next year when he forged his Mom's name to enlistment papers and took the oath as a US Marine...Eventually ratted out as being too young to fight, the Corps allowed him to train as a truck driver in Hawaii, but this did not deter Lucas from his goal of combat against the enemy...
Fearing he would miss his opportunity, he deserted his post and stowed away with the other Marines aboard the USS Deuel (APA-160) bound for Iwo Jima...His moment to show what makes a US Marine came days after his 17th birthday when two Japanese hand grenades landed among his 4 man fire team...Without hesitation Lucas shoved one Marine aside, covering a grenade with his own body while taking the other grenade in his hand and pulling it under his body...The one in his hand failed to ignite, while the one under him exploded...His team went on to complete their assignment, while Lucas lay where he fell until the following day when he was found to be alive...The corpsman trying to save him had to kill another Japanese while administering medical aid...
Quoted from the Military.com article:
More than 250 pieces of metal in his body were removed during surgeries. Despite how much was removed, there would be enough shrapnel inside him to set off airport metal detectors for the rest of his life. While Lucas never saw combat again, he would join the Army in 1961, become a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne and train young troops for combat in Vietnam. He died in 2008 at age 80.
More about his life can be found in Wikipedia...The citation accompanying his Medal of Honor is shown below...
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th 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-day plus one, Pfc. 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, Pfc. Lucas unhesitatingly hurled himself over his comrades upon one grenade and pulled the other under him, absorbing the whole blasting forces 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 Pfc. Lucas and the U.S. Naval Service.
I join a grateful nation in saluting the service of men like Jacklyn Harold Lucas...
Jack Lucas receives the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman on Oct. 5, 1945. (Department of Defense)
