Won't get much if any traction here, but even though I haven't served with the Corps, Semper Fidelis Mr. Lucas. And may your beautiful, charming widow live forever.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacklyn_H._Lucas

Holy ****! This guy had brass ones! He left his unit to get into combat, threw himself on two gernades...and in the 60's joinded the Army as a Paratrooper to get over his fear of heights...and survived a jump where both chutes failed!


"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."

Some big names their! Wow!

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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

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He was the youngest to receive the MOH. 17.

He just walked off of his base and jumped on a troop ship, wanted to get some action. That took some guts!

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He went AWOL because he lied on his app and thought he was busted, but turned himself in and was lauded for his fervor.



Can you imagine being 17 (he turned 17 three days before the battle) and throwing yourself on two grenades to save four guys you barely knew? Heavy.

Nope, I guess you do what you need to do, or something like that.

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He was a true Marine. RIP.

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A true hero who went above and beyond. Rest in peace Marine.

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He spent the last years of his life in Hattiesburg, MS close to the hometown of another Marine that was awarded the Medal of Honor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_M._Wheat

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Jack Lucas, who at 14 lied his way into military service during World War II and became the youngest Marine to receive the Medal of Honor, died Thursday in a Hattiesburg, Miss., hospital. He was 80.

Lucas had been battling cancer. Ponda Lee at Moore Funeral Service said the funeral home was told he died before dawn.

Jacklyln "Jack" Lucas was just six days past his 17th birthday in February 1945 when his heroism at Iwo Jima earned him the nation's highest military honor. He used his body to shield three fellow squad members from two grenades, and was nearly killed when one exploded.

"A couple of grenades rolled into the trench," Lucas said in an Associated Press interview shortly before he received the medal from President Truman in October 1945. "I hollered to my pals to get out and did a Superman dive at the grenades. I wasn't a Superman after I got hit. I let out one helluva scream when that thing went off."

He was left with more than 250 pieces of shrapnel in his body and in every major organ and endured 26 surgeries in the months after Iwo Jima.

He was the youngest serviceman to win the Medal of Honor in any conflict other than the Civil War.

"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," the Medal of Honor citation said.

In the AP interview, written as a first-person account under his name, he recalled the months he spent in a hospital.

"Soon as I rest up, I imagine I'll run for president," the story concluded. "Ain't I the hero, though?"

Big for his age and eager to serve, Lucas forged his mother's signature on an enlistment waiver and joined the Marines at 14. Military censors discovered his age through a letter to his 15-year-old girlfriend.

"They had him driving a truck in Hawaii because his age was discovered and they threatened to send him home," said D.K. Drum, who wrote Lucas' story in the 2006 book "Indestructible."

"He said if they sent him home, he would just join the Army."

Lucas eventually stowed away aboard a Navy ship headed for combat in the Pacific Ocean. He turned himself in to avoid being listed as a deserter and volunteered to fight, and the officers on board allowed him to reach his goal of fighting the Japanese.

"They did not know his age. He didn't give it up and they didn't ask," Drum said.

Born in Plymouth, N.C., on Feb. 14, 1928, Edwards was a 13-year-old cadet captain in a military academy when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

"I would not settle for watching from the sidelines when the United States was in such desperate need of support from its citizens," Lucas said in "Indestructible." "Everyone was needed to do his part and I could not do mine by remaining in North Carolina."

After the war, Lucas earned a business degree from High Point University in North Carolina and raised, processed and sold beef in the Washington, D.C., area. In the 1960s, he joined the Army and became a paratrooper, Drum said, to conquer his fear of heights. On a training jump, both of his parachutes failed.

"He was the last one out of the airplane and the first one on the ground," Drum said.

He was diagnosed with a form of leukemia in April and spent his last days in the hospital with family and friends, including his wife, Ruby, standing vigil.


"Hand Salute!"

"Two"

Wow! That's amazing. How do you survive the fall from an airplane with no parachute? I guess the same way you survive throwing yourself on top of two hand grenades.

He must have felt like he really was indestructible. Thanks for posting this, JD.

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Amazing...
A true hero.

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Some local pics and words ....


Preceding the coffin were the five Medal of Honor recipients, including Williams, Livingston and three other Vietnam War veterans, James Fleming, Harvey Barnum Jr. and Leonard Keller.

The hall was filled with a hauntingly beautiful Marine Corps Hymn, an anthem that James Connelly of Memphis had learned to play on his bagpipes just the night before.

The coffin was escorted by Marines in dress blues.

Inside were a host of dignitaries.


They listened to remembrances from Livingston as well as Lt. Gen. James Amos, who is awaiting Senate confirmation as the Assistant Commandant of the Marines Corps.

Other speakers included Dorea Drum, who wrote Lucas' biography.

"He never gave less than his all, whether as a warrior in battle or representing this nation's fallen heroes, helping a friend in need or fighting cancer until the end," Drum said.

"There was no fear at the end. He knew he was going home, and he was a hero until the end."
(Rankin County Ledger)

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