Legendary Iwo Marine Recipient passes

(June 5, 2008) Jack Lucas' departure was pure bulldog, jarhead toughness.

The nation's youngest Medal of Honor Recipient since the Civil War died an hour and a half into yesterday morning and in complete command of the situation. Ruby's (Jack's wife) sister called us to say he was in grave condition and later to confirm his passing.

Associated Press reports: "Cancer was the one enemy Lucas couldn't defeat and the disease "tore apart his body," Ruby Lucas said. He was diagnosed with a form of leukemia in April and spent his last days in the hospital with family and friends standing vigil.

"In his final hours, the steady stream of visitors was stopped and Ruby Lucas was given a few quiet moments with her husband. " 'I said, 'Jack, you know your're dying,' Ruby Lucas said. He just raised his head off the pillow. He said, 'I ain't dead yet.' Just as plain as day. I said, 'That's Jack Lucas. He wants to get the last word in.' "

For those who knew him, this was exactly as he would have scripted it. Jack was one of the few people I've known who lived his life exactly as he wanted... and the Devil take the hindmost.

The state flag will fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Monday, the day Lucas will be buried. His death brings to 104 the number of living Medal of Honor Recipients. Services Date of Visitation: Sunday, June 8, 2008, 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at Moore Funeral Home in Hattiesburg. Funeral services will be held 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 9, 2008 on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Interment will follow in Highland Cemetery.

Jack was preceded in death by his parents, Louis Harold and Margaret Lucas. Survivors include his wife, Ruby C. Clark Lucas of Hattiesburg; four sons, William Wayne Lucas of Adel, Georgia, Jimmy Randall Lucas of Lewisville, North Carolina, Louis Harold Lucas, II of Safford, Virginia, and Kelly Swain Lucas of Petal; a daughter, Charlene Lucas of Petal; three step-daughters, Joan Martin, Debbie Mitchell and Melinda Carroll, all of Petal; a brother, Louis Edwards Lucas of Greenville, North Carolina; 15 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren Instead of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Marine Corps League, Commiskey-Wheat Detachment 1073, P.O. Box 18290, Hattiesburg, MS, 39404

God Speed, Jack. Semper Fi.

Honor given

World War II Medal of Honor Recipient Marine Jack Lucas will be honored with a special academic award created to recognize the best paper written annually by a University of Southern Mississippi student on a topic in warfare history. Lucas, a Hattiesburg resident who was the youngest Marine to receive the Medal of Honor since the Civil War, died June 5 at age 80. He served on the advisory board for USM's Study of War and Society program, which examines the impact of war and its relationship to society. Officials said the Jack Lucas Award will be presented annually to the writer of the best student paper on a war and society topic, and will include a $250 cash