He was born, the 6th of 7 children, to Edgar Marvin and Maude Ella Lucas on their farm in Yell County, Arkansas on November 8, 1924. He lost his father at the age of 6 and by the age of fourteen his older siblings had moved away leaving Luke and his younger brother to run the farm with their mules providing the locomotion. Soon after graduating high school in 1943, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. After completing basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Luke was transferred to Sacramento, California where he spent 30 days for additional training. He then endured a troop train trip to New Jersey that lasted 5 days and nights. From there he shipped out for England. The 13-day “voyage” was extremely rough and Luke was happy to arrive in Liverpool, England in April, 1944 although the troops were confined on board for a further 3 days. Soon his unit was moved to Plymouth to prepare for the D-Day invasion.
June 6, 1944, after sitting out a fierce storm in the English Channel, Luke and his unit landed on Utah Beach in the 3rd wave. After weeks of fierce fighting Luke’s unit took part in the liberation of Cherbourg and then fought its way through France, Belgium and Germany to Berlin participating in all General Patton’s major engagements including the Battle of the Bulge. He was awarded 4 Bronze Stars. He received the Purple Heart when he was wounded in the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. Following the German surrender, Luke and his unit were shipped back to the U.S.A. to prepare for the invasion of Japan. He learned of the Japanese surrender during the 30-day leave after arriving back from Europe.
Following his formal discharge, Luke returned to the family farm for 6 months before moving to Wichita shortly before New Year 1946 to join siblings who had relocated for employment during the war. Luke met his future wife Betty JoEd on New Year’s Eve and they were married soon after she graduated from Wesley’s nursing school in September, 1948. Luke opened a liquor store on the first day liquor became legal in Kansas in 1948 and ran the store until his retirement.
Luke was preceded in death by his parents, 6 siblings, his first wife, Betty JoEd, and his second wife Betty S. He is survived by his son John K. Lucas of Boca Raton, Florida and his daughter Marilyn K. Bassell of Henderson, Nevada. He is also survived by 5 grandchildren, John Wayne Lucas, Nathan Lucas, Elizabeth Perry, Mary Pack, Jodie Armstrong and 9 great-grandchildren, Aidan Lucas, Emma, Averleigh, Harper and Summer Lucas, Rylee, Rhett and Ranger Perry, and Noelle Armstrong.
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