Just when you thought being a badass was all the rage, this Marine took it to another level. His name is Jacklyn H. Lucas. Born in 1928, North Carolina, Lucas was determined to join the military after hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor.
At the age of 14, Lucas forged his mother signature, lied about his age and enlisted in the Marines in 1942.
He was stationed on several bases in the US, and in 1945, Lucas decided that standing around on a base wasn't his cup of tea. He went UA and stowed away on a Navy ship bound for the Pacific: not realizing that it was headed towards Iwo Jima.
At age of 17, Lucas landed on Iwo Jima, survived the beach assault and continued inland. On February 20, 1945, PFC Lucas and three other Marines were suddenly ambushed by a Japanese patrol. During the ensuing fire fight, Lucas noticed 2 enemy grenades, which landed directly in front of him. Lucas jumped on one of the grenades and pulled the other one under him, absorbing the whole blasting force of the explosions in his own body. By pure miracle, Lucas was still alive and was evacuated off the island.
PFC Lucas was awarded the Medal of Honor, making him the youngest service member to receive it since the Civil War. For the rest of his life, there remained about 200 pieces of metal, some the size of 22 caliber bullets, in Lucas' body.
After the war, Lucas joined the Army and became a paratrooper to conquer his fear of heights. On one training jump, both of his chutes didn’t open…he survived. "There were many people who fought in the service under 17 years of age, they had that good ol' American spirit, they wanted to stand up for America"
Hardfuck for days #ww2 #iwojima #marines #semperfi #slayer #stayzero #zerofoxtrot