First Lieutenant Bay was the pilot of a F-80C Shooting Star fighter interceptor with the 36th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 8th Fighter Bomber Group. On 10 May 1951, while on a combat mission of strafing enemy positions, his aircraft crashed and exploded. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, First Lieutenant Bay was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, 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.