The Medal of Honor

Jack H. Lucas (High Point, Delta Omega 1956) became the youngest serviceman to receive the Medal of Honor in any conflict other than the Civil War. 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 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 major organs and endured 26 surgeries in the months after Iwo Jima.  "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 enemy patrol and continue the advance," the Medal of Honor Citation reads.