USS Jack H. Lucas

USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, first of the Flight III variants and 75th overall in the class. She is named after then-Marine Corps Private First Class, later United States Army captain Jacklyn H. Lucas, recipient of the Medal of Honor. On 17 September 2016, she was named by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

Construction
Jack H. Lucas was launched on 4 June 2021, and christened 26 March 2022. The ship was commissioned on 7 October 2023 with the ceremony taking place in Tampa, Florida.

Operational history
Jack H. Lucas left Ingalls on 12 December 2022 for three days of sea trials before returning to port on 15 December 2022.

On 27 June 2023, the US Navy formally took delivery of Jack H. Lucas from Ingalls. She remained in Pascagoula for another 120 days after delivery to allow the crew to move onto the ship.

On 26 September 2023, Jack H. Lucas left Ingalls for her home port in San Diego, California, with a stopover in Florida. She was commissioned in Tampa Bay on 7 October 2023.

Namesake
Jacklyn Harold "Jack" Lucas (1928–2008) was a U.S. Marine, and later U.S. Army airborne officer, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Iwo Jima, at the age of 17. He is the youngest Marine and youngest serviceman in World War II to be awarded the United States' highest military decoration for valor. When the keel of USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) was laid in 1997, Lucas placed his Medal of Honor citation in the ship's hull, where it remains sealed.