Edgar Russell Norcross
PFC Edgar R. Norcross flew as a radioman with VMTB-232.
He was killed in action at Yap on 16 March 1945.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 470313
Current Status
ACCOUNTED FOR
as of 16 June 2025
Recovery Organization
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Read press release
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
March 22, 1926
in Manchester, NH
Parents
Russell Jenne Norcross (d. 1939)
Dorotha (Giltner) Norcross
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
May 17, 1943
at Manchester, NH
Home Of Record
255 Concord Street
Manchester, NH
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Dorotha Norcross
Military Specialty
Aviation radioman
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Edgar Norcross was an aviation radioman and gunner. He trained with VMSB-943 at MCAS El Toro, and was part of a large group deployed overseas in January 1945 to join veteran squadron VMTB-232 at Ulithi. Norcross regularly flew in TBM-3 #68526 piloted by 2Lt. Joseph Crowley, with PFC Kenneth D. Gillespie in the gun turret.
By March 1945, Yap was cut off from reinforcements and bombed to ruins – a place of little strategic importance, but useful for green pilots to get combat experience. Yap Airstrip, already pitted by bomb craters, was still vaguely operational and a frequent target for VMSB-232. The squadron flew several uneventful missions, and some wondered if the Japanese were even still there.
The question was answered on 16 March 1945.
Crowley’s plane had just entered its bombing run when its left wing disintegrated, flipping the big bomber on its back. The gunners in another plane watched the stricken Avenger “cartwheel and spin” from 6,000 feet to the ground beside the northeast corner of the airstrip, where it exploded. No parachutes were seen.
Crowley, Norcross, and Gillespie were optimistically reported as “missing in action” after the strike. However, the weight of evidence indicated that all three had perished in the crash. On 11 May 1945, the entire crew was declared dead. They were the squadron’s first combat losses of the 1945 tour, and the only ones killed on a Yap strike.
Burial Information or Disposition
The wreck of Crowley’s aircraft was found by American forces occupying Yap, along with a grave marker inscribed in Japanese: “To the memory of American pilots who died at the front.” Remains were recovered from the site and reburied in a small military cemetery on the island.
In February 1947, the Yap graves were exhumed and sent to Manila for laboratory analysis. A panel plate reading “BUAERNO 68526” – Crowley’s TBF – was found with remains in Grave #7, and a dental comparison identified the remains of PFC Gillespie. He was returned to his family and buried in Sugar Creek Cemetery, Moberly, Missouri.
However, Grave #7 was a double burial. It seemed logical that the other bones belonged to Crowley or Norcross – or possibly both – and the laboratory mentioned this theory. Unfortunately, the condition of the remains prevented any attempts at individual identification. “Manila Mausoleum X-398” was declared unidentifiable, and the two missing Marines were “approved non-recoverable” in 1949.
On 8 August 2025, the DPAA announced the identification of PFC Edgar R. Norcross as of 12 June 2025.
This article will be updated.
Visit Missing Air Crew for more information about TBM-3 #68526.
Memorials
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
Information about final burial is pending.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Dorotha Norcross.
Location Of Loss
The Crowley plane crashed beside Yap Airstrip, now part of Yap International Airport.
