Lucas earned a business degree from High Point University and was initiated into the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity (Delta Omega Chapter).
He joined the United States Army in 1961 and served in the 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper to conquer his fear of heights.
He reportedly survived a training jump in which both of his parachutes malfunctioned.
He volunteered for Vietnam, but was not allowed to go there and ended his time as a captain in 1965 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, training troops for the Vietnam War.

When the keel of the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) (christened in 2000) was laid, Lucas placed his Medal of Honor citation in the ship's hull, where it remains sealed.

On August 3, 2006, Lucas, along with 15 other living Marine Medal of Honor recipients, was presented the Medal of Honor flag by Commandant of the Marine Corps General Michael Hagee at the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C., in front of over 1,000 people, including family, friends and Marines.
Lucas said of the ceremony, "To have these young men here in our presence — it just rejuvenates this old heart of mine.
I love the Corps even more knowing that my country is defended by such fine young people."

Lucas died at a hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on June 5, 2008, of leukemia, with family and friends by his side.

On September 18, 2016, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, DDG-125, would be named in honor of Lucas.
Lucas earned a business degree from High Point University and was initiated into the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity (Delta Omega Chapter). He joined the United States Army in 1961 and served in the 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper to conquer his fear of heights. He reportedly survived a training jump in which both of his parachutes malfunctioned. He volunteered for Vietnam, but was not allowed to go there and ended his time as a captain in 1965 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, training troops for the Vietnam War.
When the keel of the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) (christened in 2000) was laid, Lucas placed his Medal of Honor citation in the ship's hull, where it remains sealed.
On August 3, 2006, Lucas, along with 15 other living Marine Medal of Honor recipients, was presented the Medal of Honor flag by Commandant of the Marine Corps General Michael Hagee at the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C., in front of over 1,000 people, including family, friends and Marines. Lucas said of the ceremony, "To have these young men here in our presence — it just rejuvenates this old heart of mine. I love the Corps even more knowing that my country is defended by such fine young people."
Lucas died at a hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on June 5, 2008, of leukemia, with family and friends by his side.
On September 18, 2016, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, DDG-125, would be named in honor of Lucas.
Jacklyn H. Lucas