Winner of Medal of Honor at 17 dies
June 5th, 2008 . by TexasFredJACKSON, Miss. - 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.
Jacklyn “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.
Win Medal of Honor
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.
Full Story Here:
Winner of Medal of Honor at 17 dies
Attention on Deck! A real American Hero has passed from this earth, Heaven has a new Marine protecting the Gates…
Sir, I salute you, Semper Fidelis…
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Rest in Peace…
Medal of Honor winner Lucas dies at 80
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.
Now days, 14 …
“Attention on Deck! A real American Hero has passed from this earth, Heaven has a new Marine protecting the Gates…
Sir, I salute you, Semper Fidelis… “I can’t add a single word to your statement.
Amazing story of this man.
I hope that Heaven has been warned, for a hero is entering their gates!
Since this is about the Medal of Honor has anyone noticed not one of our outstanding troops fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan has been awarded the Medal and are still living? Their have been some extreme acts of bravery by our young men and women who I think haven’t been properly recognized. In no other war has the Medal only been awarded posthumously except this one. It’s not right and I think the CinC need to do something about it.
Not too sure just what the CiC can do Bob… The original write-up has to come from the Service I think…
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The Medal of Honor is the highest award for bravery that can be given to any individual in the United States. In judging men and women for receipt of the medal, each service has established its own regulations.
The idea for the Medal of Honor was born during the Civil War as men fought gallantly, often displaying great heroism. Gen. George Washington had originated the Purple Heart in 1782 to honor brave soldiers, sailors and marines.
From that time until the Civil War, certificates of merit and a “brevet” system of promotions were used as military awards. The first military decoration formally authorized by the American government as a badge of valor was the Medal of Honor for enlisted men of the Navy and Marine Corps. It was authorized by Congress and approved by President Abraham Lincoln Dec. 21, 1861. The Medal for the Army and Voluntary Forces was authorized July 12, 1862.
The Medal is awarded “in the name of the Congress of the United States,” and for this reason, it is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor . It was only on rare occasions, however, that Congress awarded special Medals of Honor. An executive order, signed Sept. 20, 1905, by President Theodore Roosevelt directed that the ceremonies of award “will always be made with formal and impressive ceremonial” and that the recipient “will, when practicable, be ordered to Washington, D.C., and the presentation will be made by the President, as Commander-in-Chief, or by such representative as the President may designate.”
The Navy Medal of Honor is made of bronze, suspended by an anchor from a bright blue ribbon, and is worn about the neck. The ribbon is spangled with a cluster of 13 white stars representing the original states. Each ray of the five-pointed star contains sprays of laurel and oak and is tipped with a trefoil. Standing in bas-relief, circled by 34 stars representing the 34 states in 1861, is Minerva, who personifies the Union. She holds in her left hand the fasces, an ax bound in staves of wood, which is the ancient Roman symbol of authority. With the sheaf in her right hand, she repulses the serpents held by the crouching figure of Discord. The reverse side of the Medal is left blank, allowing for the engraving of the recipient’s name and the date and place of his or her deed. Criteria for award
The Medal of Honor, established by joint resolution of Congress, July 12, 1862, (amended by Act of July 9, 1918, and Act of July 25, 1963) is awarded in the name of Congress to a person, who, while a member of the armed forces, distinguishes himself or herself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against any enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.
The deed must have been one of personal bravery or self-sacrifice, an action that conspicuously distinguished the individual above his comrades. Incontestable proof of the performance of service is exacted and the recommendation for award of this decoration is considered on the standard of extraordinary merit. Eligibility is limited to members of the armed forces of the United States in active military service.
http://www.medalofhonor.com/MedalofHonorCriteria.htm
One thing he can do is ask his Generals why their haven’t been any men and women, still living, whose bravery doesn’t fit the citation for a Medal of Honor. I find it hard to believe that Senior NCO’s and Officers on the front haven’t submitted some of their people for the Medal. With the citations I’ve read for Silver Stars and Army Crosses, you have to know that some of these were probably submitted as Medals but were probably downgraded by REMF’s at the Pentagon.