Jacklyn Harold News Today

The USS Jack H. Lucas, the Navy's newest and most advanced destroyer will be formally commissioned at a ceremony in Tampa this Fall.

The $2.4 billion warship features an advanced air and missile defense radar system that will help it protect aircraft carrier and amphibious assault groups

Mississippi-based shipbuilder Ingalls delivered Lucas to the Navy following a week of sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Jack H. Lucas, the newest, most advanced Burke-class destroyer, became part of the Navy Tuesday and will operate out of San Diego, where it will help replace aging Cold War-era cruisers.

After lying about his age and joining the Marines at age 14, Jack H. Lucas fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima. On Feb. 20, 1945, during a firefight with Japanese soldiers, he saved the lives of three Marines by hurling himself onto a pair of grenades, absorbing the blast with his body.

HIGH POINT