After 80 years, Vanceboro pilot lost in Egypt’s desert is finally identified

A Vanceboro airman killed during World War II has been accounted for more than 80 years after his death, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. The agency announced that U.S. Army Air Forces Capt. Marvin E. Lancaster, 24, was accounted for Dec. 15, 2025.

Lancaster’s family recently received a full briefing on his identification, allowing additional details to be released, according to the agency.

Lancaster was assigned to the 64th Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group. He was reported killed in action Nov. 2, 1942, when German fighters attacked his P-40F Warhawk during a formation flight over Egypt during the Second Battle of El Alamein, according to DPAA.

The agency said Lancaster crashed into a remote part of the Western Desert while on a strafing mission, and his remains were not identified after the war.

After 80 years, Vanceboro pilot lost in Egypt’s desert is finally identified

After World War II, multiple organizations searched for Lancaster’s aircraft and remains in Egypt but were unsuccessful, according to DPAA.

The agency said British forces located unknown remains near a downed U.S. fighter aircraft on Nov. 7, 1942. The pilot was buried at the crash site before the remains were later reinterred at the British El Alamein War Cemetery.

After 80 years, Vanceboro pilot lost in Egypt’s desert is finally identified

After the airman was determined to be American, the remains were transferred to U.S. authorities in 1944, according to DPAA. The American Graves Registration Service declared the remains non-identifiable in 1949 and buried them at the U.S. Military Cemetery Carthage, now the North Africa American Cemetery.

In April 2024, the Department of War and the American Battle Monuments Commission exhumed the remains and transferred them to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

After 80 years, Vanceboro pilot lost in Egypt’s desert is finally identified

DPAA said scientists used anthropological analysis to identify Lancaster. Scientists with the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System also used mitochondrial DNA analysis and mitochondrial genome sequencing data.

Lancaster will be buried Sept. 18, 2026, in his hometown. For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at 800-892-2490.