Wallace Alexander Scott was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on April 6th, 1890. He was born into a family of two, and later his younger brother was born. Instead of being drafted into the military, he volunteered in order to serve his country in the upcoming war. He got recruited into the Navy and became a First Class Machinist aboard the USS Ticonderoga. He served while fixing or monitoring the onboard mechanical equipment of the ship. 

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On September 30th, 1918, the USS Ticonderoga was having engine problems, so Wallace had to go check that out and fix it. Meanwhile, enemy troops had taken advantage of the engine problems and were going to torpedo and board the ship. On that day, Wallace Alexander Scott and 200+ other sailors died from the attack, while only 12 survived. The USS Ticonderoga was also sunk by the enemy forces that day.