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thedrifter
10-24-07, 07:48 AM
Iwo Jima hero lauded
Youngest Medal of Honor recipient in Marine Corps speaks in Obion County

UNION CITY - About 200 people braved the cold and rain Tuesday to see the youngest Medal of Honor recipient in Marine Corps history.

"I didn't equate at 14 that you had to be a certain age to stand up for one's country. I was very impatient to get to that battlefield," said Jack Lucas, now 79, during the outdoor ceremony held in his honor outside the Obion County Courthouse.

Lucas lied about his age and forged his mother's signature to enter the Marines at age 14. By age 17, he had been awarded the Medal of Honor for protecting his comrades during the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.
While creeping in a ravine, Lucas hurled himself over two grenades to keep his fellow soldiers from harm and absorbed the blast with his body. The second grenade didn't go off, said state Rep. Phillip Pinion, D-Union City, during the program.

"I really feel honored that he came," said Ed Youngblood of Union City, who also fought on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima.

Lucas lives in Hattiesburg, Miss. and penned his story in the book "Indestructible: The Unforgettable Story of a Marine Hero at the Battle of Iwo Jima."

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole wrote the forward for the book. Lucas signed copies following Tuesday's program.

The program was held in conjunction with the unveiling of a monument to the 27 Medal of Honor recipients who fought at Iwo Jima. The Medal of Honor is the nation's highest military honor. It is awarded for risk of life in combat beyond the call of duty.

The recipients from Iwo Jima were 22 Marines, four Navy corpsmen and one Navy lieutenant, according to Youngblood. Lucas is one of the only three living recipients, he said.

Youngblood said he invited the other two living recipients, George Wahlen, a Navy corpsman from Utah, and Hershel Williams, a Marine from West Virginia. He said they couldn't make the trip.

For the past three months, Youngblood garnered community support and raised $6,000 to erect the monument, which stands outside the Obion County Courthouse.

The crowd applauded Youngblood, 82, for all his hard work and efforts to raise the monument.

"He is the most energetic person I know. We're all very proud of him," said Youngblood's daughter, Ginger Victory.

Martha Harris and Virginia Roper are high school classmates of Youngblood's. They were impressed with the monument and the program. "I think it's great," Harris said.

Earlier Tuesday while waiting on the program to start, Ed Mason welcomed fellow Marines at the courthouse with a greeting of "Semper Fi, brother!"

Mason, of Union City, served in the Marines from February 1956 to February 1960.

"I couldn't miss this for nothing. Too much Marine Corps history," said Mason, holding a folded umbrella. "I had to come for the dedication of the Iwo Jima memorial.''

Mason was equally excited about getting an opportunity to meet Lucas.

"I hope my little throw-away camera will get a picture of him," he said.

Spencer Davis attended to represent his Veterans of Foreign Wars post and African-American military veterans. He is the ninth district judge advocate and the post judge advocate for VFW Post 4862.

"They always talking about, 'God bless America,'" Davis said. ''They ought to say, 'God bless the veterans.' If it wasn't for us, there wouldn't be an America.''

David Worley of Union City agreed. A Marine and a Purple Heart recipient who served in Vietnam, he picked up a Purple Heart license plate for his motorcycle while he was at the courthouse.

"Every freedom we have in this world was paid by the blood of some soldier on the battlefield," he said.

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- Wendy Isom, 425-9782

Ellie