WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Edgar R. Norcross, 18, killed during World War II, was accounted for on June 12, 2025.
During World War II, Norcross was assigned to Marine Torpedo Bombing Squadron, 232 Marine Air Group 45, 4th Marine Air Wing, Air Defense Command, on Ulithi in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. On March 16, 1945, he was the radio gunner on a TBM-3 Avenger aircraft. During a glide bombing attack on Yap Airfield, the aircraft crashed on Yap Island in what is the modern-day Federated States of Micronesia. The crew, including Norcross, did not survive the crash. The Marine Corps reported him killed in action and his remains were declared non-recoverable.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Norcross's case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dodpaa, https://www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.