Violent But True Bed Time Stories: Jack Lucas

Jack Lucas had a singular purpose and focus of will which led him straight to the island of Iwo Jima. Despite the unorthodox way Jack got there, it was clear he belonged on that beach with his fellow Marines.

When the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, Jack Lucas was only in grade school. Many of us don't make great decisions when we're in grade school. Jack was one of the few that actually had a good idea at that young age. That idea was to become a United States Marine and stack bodies in the Pacific. He'd grown up with the name Jacklyn and was already pretty tough because of it. Most people referred to him as Jack, else they incur the wrath of the near unkillable Jack Lucas. Jack forged his mother's signature and got a notary to approve it so he could join the Marine Corps, he spent his fourteenth birthday as U.S. Marine.

They didn't send Jack to the front lines right away. It was total bullshit in Jack's mind, so he went UA (unauthorized absence). He got to Pearl Harbor and told an officer it was a clerical error for him to not be there. Apparently, his bullshitting skills were strong too. They made him a truck driver, which pissed him off, even more, so he stowed away on a ship. It's a good thing he was angry because they'd need it on Iwo Jima. Jack didn't have a rifle either, but he was fueled by pure rage and discontent (in keeping with Marine Corps tradition). When they hit the beach Jack Lucas grabbed a rifle off of one of the dead and headed to the front. Jack didn't have to wait long for action. A grenade landed near him so he covered it up with his body, then another grenade rolled by. He grabbed that one too.

Despite a dual grenade blast to his direct person, Jack Lucas, just wouldn't die and he was awarded the Medal of Honor when he was just seventeen.