Jack Lucas, WWII Medal of Honor Winner
The second youngest man to receive the medal of honor has died. Jack Lucas, a decorated marine who forged his mother’s signature when he was 14 years old so that he could join the military during World War II, died at the age of 80 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi of leukemia.
Lucas was an adventurous man right from the start. After spending three years in the Marines, he stowed away on a supply ship from Hawaii to Iwo Jima because he was afraid he would never get to fight in the war. Six days after his 17 birthday, he was fighting Japanese soldiers in the Battle of Iwo Jima. During that battle he dove onto two live grenades and pushed them down into the beach’s sand to save three other soldiers around him. One of the grenades went off, giving Lucas life-threatening injuries for which he had to have over 20 surgeries to mend. His life was eventually saved though he spent the rest of his life with over 200 fragments of metal in his body.
For his heroics, Jack Lucas received the Medal of Honor from President Truman in October 1945.
His life did not get quiet after that. He continued to seek out ways to serve his country. He joined the army in 1961 at the age of 33 and rose to the rank of captain before quiting in 1965 when he realized he would not be sent to Vietnam. He spent his later years building a chain of butcher shops in Washington, D.C.
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Tags: Jack Lucas, Leukemia, WWII