Wallace, John

Description

John Michael Wallace was born on June 28, 1908, in Brooklyn, New York, to Ellen M “Nellie” Ryan and David Richard Wallace. He was raised and educated in Brooklyn where his father died in 1914 when he was five.

He had a sister Helen and a brother Michael Joseph. His mother remarried and by early 1930’s the family was living in Rye at 502 Forest Ave. John was then working as a concessionaire at Playland Amusement Park. He and his brother Michael took over the “Guess Your Weight and Age” concession from their uncle who had run it for 45 years.

He married Stella K. Bernstein in 1940 in New York. John enlisted January 16, 1943 and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His service number was 805 21 59.

John M. Wallace, former Playland concessionaire, husband of Mrs.
Stella Wallace, of Rye, has been graduated from electrical school at the U. S Naval Training Station, Sampson, N. Y..

John served as an EM1c. In the U.S. Navy during World War II, EM1c stood for Electrician’s Mate First Class.
This was a petty officer rating (equivalent to the modern E-6 paygrade) within the Artificer Branch, responsible for the ship’s electrical power and lighting systems.

From the US Navy Muster Rolls, we can see John was assigned to the USS LSM 164 in March 1945. USS LSM-164 was a Landing Ship Medium (LSM) that served with the U.S. Navy during the latter half of World War II. LSM-164 was commissioned on July 25, 1944. It served primarily in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. The ship participated in the invasion of Leyte in October 1944 and the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945.

John was honorably discharged October 30,1945.

He returned home to Rye, his wife and to Playland. He and his brother Michael would also open Budge’s Restaurant, 3 Elm
Place, Rye in the late 1950’s. After a long and interesting career as concessionaire and restaurant owner he retired to Florida. His wife Stella died October 16,1983 in Miami, FL.

John Michael Wallace died on August 1, 1992, in Miami, Florida, at the age of 84, and was buried at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.