By Debbie Schlussel
Every day, World War II heroes are dying all over America. Soon, there will be almost none left. And sadly, many Americans will forget them. Their story will die out because what the girls of “The Hills” are wearing and who “Tila Tequila” is dating is more important to the young and future adults of our nation.
But I will not forget the contributions of heroes like Jacklyn “Jack” Lucas, who died yesterday of cancer in a Mississippi hospital. At 80, he was far younger than most WWII vets because–as a 14-year-old–he lied about his age to join the Marines and fight in WWII.
Just six days past Lucas’ 17th birthday, he became the youngest Marine since the Civil War to be awarded the Medal of Honor for shielding his fellow soldiers from grenade blasts.

American Hero, Medal of Honor Awardee Jack Lucas
This amazing American patriot and hero was able to understand the call to duty and sacrifice for his country at such a young age:

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.
He was the youngest serviceman to win [DS: be awarded] 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. . . .
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. . . .
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.”

Sadly for us, they don’t make ’em like they used to.
Jacklyn “Jack Lucas, Rest In Peace.