First Lieutenant Lucas was the pilot of a F-51D Mustang night fighter with the 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 18th Fighter Bomber Wing. On 17 November 1951, while on a combat mission, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, crashed and exploded into a river. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Lucas was awarded the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.