An All-American Falls: RIP WWII vet and Medal of Honor Winner Jack Lucas
By Duane Lester • Jun 6th, 2008He lied his way into the military at age 14. Three years later, he stowed away on a Navy ship to fight the Japanese in the Pacific conflict. On the black sands of Iwo Jima, he jumped on not one, but two grenades and saved the lives of his fellow Marines. He survived with 250 peices of shrapnel in every organ of his body.
After 26 surgeries, he became the youngest service member since the Civil War to when the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Yesterday, he lost his final battle against cancer. He was 80:
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, Lucas 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.”
Lucas later joined the paratroopers in the 1960s, just to conquer his fear of heights. On a training jump, both of his parachutes failed to open. D.K. Drum, who wrote Lucas’ story in the 2006 book “Indestructible,” commented, “He was the last one out of the airplane and the first one on the ground.”
Rest in peace, sir. And thank you.
