(October 22, 1915 - March 8, 1945) Born on an Ellis County farm, Jack Lummus attended school at Alma and Ennis, and Baylor University on an athletics scholarship. He played minor league baseball in Texas and football for the New York Giants. He joined the U. S. Marines in 1942 and on February 19, 1945, landed with the Fifth Marine Division in the first wave of assault troops on Iwo Jima. On March 8, after fighting without respite for two days and nights, Lummus and his rifle platoon slowly advanced toward a complex of pillboxes before being halted by Japanese forces. Despite injuries from two grenade explosions, Lummus single-handedly destroyed three enemy emplacements before stepping on a land mine, sustaining fatal wounds. His congressional Medal of Honor celebrates his "conspicuous gallantry and tenacious perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds." (1999) Supplemental plate: An exhibit with photos of Jack Lummus, a copy of the citation for his Medal of Honor and other records are available in the library on this site.
Jack Lummus
The roadside stories worth pulling over for.
Jack Lummus is a historical marker in Ennis, Ellis County, dedicated in 1999. It is one of 115 historical markers documented in Ellis County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 296 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 32.3253, -96.6314 near Ennis. The nearest cataloged historic site is Story, Jesse and Mary, House (Gone) (historic place), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Raphael House, House at 509 West Brown, and Jolesch House.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5139011862. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
Get Texas Roam — all 28,000 sites in your pocket
See this site and every marker, cemetery, courthouse, museum and landmark across Texas on one live map — find what's near you, get directions, and check in as you roam.
