Indestructible: The Incredible Story of Jackie Lucas
INDESTRUCTIBLE: THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF JACKIE LUCAS
INTRO:
It’s December 7, 1941. Americans are shocked. Americans are angry. Americans want revenge. Jackie Lucas is one of those Americans. He want’s to get into the fight. He’s determined to get into the fight. But there’s a problem.
He’s only 13 years old.
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Welcome to the Ordinary Heroes Project Podcast, a podcast dedicated to the history, the stories, and the legacy of World War II. My name is Ron Eckberg and I am the “proud son of a World War II combat veteran” and I want to thank you for joining me for Episode 4, the story of the 20th Century’s youngest Congressional Medal of Honor recipient—and the youngest marine ever—Jackie Lucas.
Give a listen.
(MUSIC)
At 7:55 am on December 7, 1941 355 aircraft of the Japanese Imperial Navy staged a stunning and surprising attack against United States naval and air bases at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Over 2400 American lives were lost that day in the attack the Japanese planners hoped would bring the US to its knees.
Instead, it brought America to its feet. Americans, who to this point were overwhelmingly isolationists concerning foreign wars, were angered, energized, and hungry for revenge.
Across the country the sidewalks outside military recruitment offices were lined with young men wanting to serve their country. In the first 30 days after the Pearl Harbor attack over 134,000 enlistments were recorded.
When the news of the attack broke on that Sunday afternoon the young cadets of Edwards Military Institute in Salemburg, North Carolina were gathered in the mess hall awaiting their evening meal.
One of those cadets was a 13 year old from Plymouth, North Carolina named Jacklyn “Jackie” Lucas.
Jackie Lucas was by his own estimation, “a tough kid who loved to fight”, “rebellious by nature” and possessing a “hair-trigger temper”. He had been forced to grow up quickly when his father had passed away just two years earlier.
Lucas’ mother instilled in him a deep sense of patriotism and that—combined with his contentious nature—prepared him well for the story that lay ahead.
On that Sunday afternoon—December 7, 1914—as he and his fellow cadets tried to make sense of what had gone on 4,800 miles to the west, Lucas would lay in his bed recalling the words of the camp commander who had announced the news of the attack to Lucas and his fellow cadets;
“The Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor”, he had said, then adding that they had “destroyed a number of our ships, and killed many of our sailors.”
In his autobiography, Indestructible, Lucas says, “A chill ran down my spine.”
“…My life was forever changed,” he wrote, “and from that point on, I was obsessed with the desire to kill Japanese.”
"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."
As his patriotism swelled and his anger overflowed, Lucas became more sure of his future. He would join the Marines and fight.
But there was still, of course, that one huge obstacle. His age.
The legal age for joining the military in 1941 was 17 and only then with parental consent. Lucas was just 13. It was an obstacle that seemed insurmountable.
Jackie Lucas, however, was not about to let a little thing like that stop him. He was ready to fight and wanted to fight sooner rather than later.
Still he waited…impatiently… but not for long.
On August 8, 1942, the now 14 year old Jackie Lucas entered a recruiting office in Norfolk, Virginia and, giving his age as 17, he forged his mother’s signature and enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves. Since he was already 5’8” and 180 pounds of muscle his age was not questioned. He was sent to Parris Island, South Carolina for Recruit Training which he passed without problem, even proving himself to be an expert sharpshooter.
Eventually Lucas found himself at Camp Catlin in Hawaii. He arrived there in November 1943 and it was there that his Marine career almost ended.
In wartime it was common practice for letters home to be censored. Lucas forgot that detail, mentioning in a letter to a girlfriend that he was 15. His deception was discovered and he was threatened with being sent home. Instead, he was given other duties and told he would not see combat.
That completely unacceptable for Lucas.
A year later he stowed away on a ship bound for combat. He turned himself in to the Captain once they were at sea and his impassioned plea to join the fight worked. He would get his chance in combat.
On February 14, 1945 Jackie Lucas turned 17. He was now a “legal” marine.
Five days later, he found himself in the midst of a life or death struggle on a small volcanic island known as Iwo Jima, a battle that would become one of the most famous in the Chronicles of World War II. On February 20th, 1945, six days after his 17th birthday had made him a true marine, the now veteran soldier did the unthinkable.
While moving through a trench with three other marines several Japanese soldiers suddenly appeared in front of him. He shot the first but before the marines could gain the upper hand a pair of grenades flew into the trench.
"I hollered to my pals to get out and did a Superman dive at the grenades,” said Lucas, bent on smothering the blast with his body. He later recalled that while in mid-air he realized that he was not Superman and this might not be the smartest thing to do.
Lucas grabbed one of the grenades and shoved. It into the soft volcanic ash. The other he pulled under his body to shield his buddies from the blast. That grenade exploded and did so with a force that blew Lucas out of the trench and onto his back. Blood poured from his mouth and the wounds left by over 250 grenade fragments, including six lodged in his brain and two in his heart.
He was still holding the other grenade in his hand. It had not detonated.
His buddies were sure he was dead and left him behind, but another group of Marines passed by and to their surprise found Lucas alive and conscious.
The war that Jackie Lucas wanted so badly to fight had lasted—for him—just one day.
His actions on Iwo Jima would earn him the nation’s highest honor for heroism, the Congressional Medal of Honor. On October 5, 1945, Lucas stood proudly on the south lawn of the White House as President Harry Truman hung the medal around his neck.
His commendation read in part;
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty…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 Pfc. Lucas and the U.S. Naval Service.
He would be the youngest recipient of the MOH in the entire 20th Century at 17 years, 6 days.
Jackie Lucas would survive the wounds he suffered on Iwo Jima thanks to 26 surgeries, then turn to the task of resuming a normal civilian life.
Getting back to that normal, post-war life was not as easy as one might think and it certainly wasn’t the end of the amazing Jackie Lucas story, however.
To overcome a fear of heights Lucas enlisted in the United States Army in 1961, joining the 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper. On a routine training jump neither of his two chutes opened. Somehow—again miraculously—he survived.
He then volunteered to go to Vietnam the the Army refused his offer. He ended his remarkable military career at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in 1965.
Jackie Lucas survived the explosion of a Japanese grenade and a parachute jump without a functioning parachute. But Leukemia was a different story.
On June 5th, 2008, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi the disease ended a life that could only be described in terms such as “miraculous”, “remarkable”, and, yes, “indestructible”.
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Again, thank you for listening to Episode Four of the Ordinary Heroes Project, and the incredible saga of Jackie Lucas. I hope you’ve enjoyed it at least half as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you. And I hope you will be looking forward to the next episode of the Ordinary Heroes Project Podcast.
It is truly my pleasure and privilege to share with you.
Again, Please subscribe, like, comment or drop me a message at “ordinaryheroes@roneckberg.com” or visit my website www.roneckberg.com/heroes. Your support means so much.
I’ll look forward to meeting up with you again on the next episode of the Ordinary Heroes Project Podcast.
