Ensign Wallace was the pilot of a F2H-2 Banshee fighter with Fighter Squadron 22 aboard the USS Lake Champlain (CV-39). On 23 July 1953, during the launching from the deck, his aircraft lost its left wing-tip fuel tank, spun, landed upside down in the water and sank in seven seconds. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, Ensign Wallace was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, 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.