SN Ensign Otto John Pace was born in Pensacola, Florida on September 25, 1923, the son of John Hiram Pace (1893-1973) and Paula Wicke Pace (1903-1978). His parents were married in 1922 in Pensacola while his father was with the US Army at Ft. Barrancas. The couple would divorce in 1928 when Otto was five-years old. His father was from Cochran, Georgia and served in WWI with the 316th Field Artillery. He would retire as a Master Sergeant and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA. In the meantime, Paula set about raising her son with the help of her parents, Otto T. Wicke (1873-1961) and Pauline VanBavor (1874-1940), both immigrants from Germany. Otto supported his family as a plumber before retiring in 1941.
Otto J. would graduate from Pensacola High School in 1941 and took a job as a draftsman for the Clawson Manufacturing Company. From there he went to work for Hardaway Contractors at NAS before signing up for the Navy's new V-5 program allowing high school graduates to become pilots. He left for Atlanta for his final physical exams in May 1942 before entering preliminary training at the University of Georgia. For his primary flight training he was transferred to NAS Glenview, Illinois. Upon completion, he reported to advanced flight training in Corpus Christi where he earned his wings and a promotion from cadet to Ensign in December 1943.
Ensign Pace and his radioman Melvin E. Mayer took off on the morning of March 15, 1944 and were flying about eight miles offshore from Astoria, Oregon when they crashed. Whether by bad weather, engine trouble or pilot error may never be known as to the cause. Mayer's body was never recovered however Otto was found floating in a raft, dead from either shock or exposure. It was determined he had been dead about three hours when found. His mother was notified, and his body shipped back home to be buried in St. John's Cemetery.
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