William Oscar Brice, CBE (December 10, 1898 – January 30, 1972) was a United States Marine Corps General and a veteran of the Korean War, the World War II fight for the Solomon Islands and pre-war expeditionary duty in Haiti and China. He last served at Pearl Harbor as commanding general, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, after more than three years at Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., as Director of Aviation. The general served in Korea as assistant commander of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing from April to October 1951. In World War II, when the Marines were fighting at Guadalcanal in America's first offensive against Japan, he commanded all United States Army, Navy, Marine and Royal New Zealand Air Force search, bombing and torpedo planes based on that island. He also headed Marine Aircraft Group 14 during its support of the New Georgia and Bougainville invasions and directed all Solomons-based Army, Navy, Marine and New Zealand fighter operations against Rabaul, Japan's biggest base in the Southwest Pacific. Brice was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for actions at Guadalcanal, the Legion of Merit with Combat "V" as head of the Fighter Command, the Air Medal for combat flights in the Solomons between December 1942 and February 1944, and appointed an Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his service with the Royal New Zealand Air Force. In addition, he earned the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V" in the final months of the war as chief of staff, air, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific. Biography William Brice was born on December 10, 1898, in Columbia, South Carolina. He attended Mt. Zion Institute at Winnsboro, South Carolina from 1913 to 1917. Brice served in the United States Army in the latter part of World War I. After the war, he resumed his education, graduating from The Citadel at Charleston, South Carolina in 1921. On September 25 of that year, he reported for active duty as a U.S. Marine second lieutenant and was assigned to the Company Officers School at Quantico, Virginia. Graduating from the school in July 1922, he was stationed at the Marine Barracks, Parris Island, South Carolina until May 1923, when he joined the 1st Marine Brigade in Haiti. He returned from that country in February 1924, to enter flight training at Pensacola, Florida, where he was designated an aviator that August. In June 1925, after further