Alfred Vernon Tice
Master Technical Sergeant Alfred V. Tice was an aviation engineer who flew with VMTB-233 during the Northern Solomons campaign.
He was killed in an accidental crash near Munda, New Georgia, on 11 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 308765
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
No active pursuit; lost at sea
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
1 February 1919
at Neodesha, Kansas
Parents
Charles & Minnie Tice
Education
(details not known)
Occupation
(details not known)
Service Life
Entered Service
8 May 1941
at Dallas, TX
Home Of Record
Waco, TX
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Minnie Tice
Specialty
Aviator / engineer
Primary Unit
VMTB-233
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands
Individual Decorations
(details not known)
Additional Service Details
MTSgt. Tice a senior engineer in his squadron at the time of his death.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On 11 November 1943, MTSgt. Tice joined MTSgt. Harry S. Pollard and 1Lt. Paul D. Ward for a routine test hop. The three Marines boarded an Avenger bomber (TBF-1 #06406) and took off from Munda Airfield without incident.
The Avenger was a few miles from the airfield when one of the wings suddenly collapsed, sending the bomber into a death spiral. Lieutenant Ward managed to leap from the plummeting plane, and survived with minor injuries. Pollard and Tice were trapped in the fuselage, and were killed when the bomber hit the sea.
Burial Information or Disposition
Body lost at sea; not recovered.
