The Stowaway Who Covered Two Grenades

Jack Lucas was 14 when he joined the US Marine Corps in August 1942. He forged his mother’s signature on the consent form and claimed to be 17. When the Marines found out his real age, they kept him out of combat.

In January 1945 he walked out of camp and stowed away on the transport USS Deuel, which was carrying the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines to Iwo Jima. He hid aboard for almost a month before turning himself in, and he turned 17 at sea on February 14, 1945, five days before the landing.

On February 20, 1945, the day after the landing, Lucas and three other Marines were in a trench on Iwo Jima when two grenades landed in front of them. He threw himself on one and pulled the other under his body. Only one exploded. It wounded him in the chest, arm and face, but his three fellow Marines were unharmed.

He survived more than twenty operations, and about 200 pieces of metal stayed in his body for the rest of his life. On October 5, 1945, President Truman presented him with the Medal of Honor at the White House. At 17, he was the youngest Marine of World War II to receive it. His 2006 memoir is titled “Indestructible.”

Watch on YouTubeSources and photo credits are below.

Fact check

The facts and where they come from

He was born on February 14, 1928. In August 1942, aged 14, he joined the Marine Corps by forging his mother’s signature on the consent form and claiming to be 17. 1 2
When the Marines found out his age, they kept him out of combat. Sources differ on the details: driving trucks in Hawaii (National WWII Museum), left in Honolulu when his unit shipped out (Home of Heroes), or disobeying “orders for shipment back to the states” (Hall of Valor). 3 4 5
In January 1945 he walked out of camp and stowed away on the transport USS Deuel, which was carrying the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines to Iwo Jima. 1 3
He hid aboard for almost a month: he left camp on January 10 and turned himself in on February 8 (Wikipedia); Home of Heroes says 29 days. 1 4
He turned 17 at sea on February 14, 1945, five days before the landing on February 19. 1 2 3
On February 20, 1945 (D+1), on Iwo Jima, he and three other Marines were in a trench when two grenades landed in front of them. His citation says the four were in a ravine; Wikipedia and the National WWII Museum say a trench. 1 5 3
He threw himself on one grenade and pulled the other under his body. 5 2 1
Only one grenade exploded; the other failed to go off. 1 3
He was wounded in the chest, arm and face. Wikipedia lists his right arm and wrist, right leg and thigh, and chest; the National WWII Museum says torso, arm and face. 1 3
His three fellow Marines were unharmed (Wikipedia: “His three comrades were unharmed”), and his citation credits him with saving his comrades. 1 5
He had more than twenty operations. The count differs: 21 (Wikipedia), 22 (Home of Heroes) or 26 (National WWII Museum). 1 4 3
About 200 pieces of metal stayed in his body for the rest of his life (Home of Heroes: “about 200 pieces of scrap iron”). 1 4
President Truman presented the Medal of Honor on October 5, 1945, at the White House. 1 3
At 17 he was the youngest Marine, and the youngest serviceman, of World War II to receive the Medal of Honor. The National WWII Museum calls him “the youngest Medal of Honor recipient of World War II.” 1 3
His 2006 memoir, written with D. K. Drum, is titled “Indestructible.” 1 6

Sources

Jacklyn H. Lucas Wikipedia
Private First Class Jacklyn H. Lucas, Medal of Honor The National WWII Museum
The Incredible Story of Jack Lucas The National WWII Museum
The Story of Jack Lucas Home of Heroes
Jacklyn H. Lucas, Medal of Honor citation Hall of Valor, Military Times
Indestructible (catalog entry) Internet Archive

Notes

Sources differ on how the Marines kept him out of combat (driving trucks in Hawaii, left behind in Honolulu, or orders to ship him back to the States), so we say only that they kept him out of combat.

His Medal of Honor citation places the four Marines in a ravine; Wikipedia and the National WWII Museum say a trench.

The number of operations differs by source (21, 22 or 26), so we say “more than twenty.”

Left out on purpose: a later Army parachute jump in which both of his parachutes reportedly failed, and Truman’s remark to him as Lucas retold it, which is second-hand.

Several photos show the setting, not Lucas himself: the Iwo Jima photos show other Marines, the White House photo is from the same October 5, 1945 ceremony and shows fellow recipient Louis Wilson, and the USS Deuel photo dates from the 1950s.

Photo credits

The archive photos in this story

All the photographs and illustrations in this story are in the public domain. Tap one to enlarge it, or follow the link to its Wikimedia Commons page for the full record. The narration, music, captions and graphics in the Short are our own.