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LEST WE FORGET...
BRIG. GENERAL WILMER F. LUCAS
[[image - Brig. General Wilmer F. Lucas]]

Gen. W. F. Lucas, 82; Served as Commander During World War II
By WALTER H. WAGGONER
Brig. General Wilmer F. Lucas, retired, who served as commander of the 369th Antiaircraft Artillery Group during World War II, died last Friday at Doctors Hospital after a brief illness. He was 82 years old and lived in Brooklyn.

He headed the Manhattan accounting firm of Lucas Tucker & Company until his retirement several years ago.

Mr. Lucas, who was a native of Washington, was a graduate of DeWitt Clinton High School in New York City. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University in 1919 and a master's degree in business administration in 1922. He obtained certification as a public accountant in 1929.

As a young man he joined the 15th Infantry Regiment of the New York State National Guard, which later became the 369th Infantry.

Received Legion of Merit

In 1941, he entered active service as a lieutenant colonel in the 369th Coast Artillery Regiment, later becoming group commander of the 53d Coast Artillery AA Brigade in Hawaii. In 1944 he commanded the 870th Antiaircraft Regimental Group, serving with the 10th Army in Okinawa as one of the highest-ranking black officers in World War II.

For distinguished service overseas, General Lucas was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Conspicuous Service Cross of the State of New York.

Returning to the United States in 1945, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and served in the Army Reserve as a Selective Service officer until 1957, when he attained the Reserve rank of brigadier general.

General Lucas was a founder and former chairman of the board of Carver Federal Savings and Loan Association and former treasurer of the Brooklyn Bureau of Social Services and the Children's Aid Society.

He is survived by his wife, the former Inez C. Williams; a son, W.F. Lucas Jr., and a grandson.

A funeral service will be held at 8 P.M. tomorrow at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, 132 West 138th Street.

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