Private First Class Wallace was a Light Weapons Infantryman with the 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in South Korea on 27 November 1950 and died of those wounds on 29 November 1950.

Wallace was awarded the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, 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.