Lt. Col Clay Tice, Jr.
U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF), 5th Air Force (5th AF)
P-38 Lightning Pilot in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA)

Background
Clay Tice, Jr. was born on June 24, 1919 to parents Clay Tice and May Tice in Phoenix, Arizona. He had an older brother, Lacy Tice born in 1910 who died at age 19 in 1929. In 1920, his family moved to Alhambra, Arizona. He attended high school and two years of college. He worked as semiskilled laborer as a welder/frame cutter. On October 16, 1940 he registered for the U.S. draft and resided in Los Angeles and worked for Southern Counties Gas.

Wartime History
On November 25, 1940 enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) as an aviation cadet with serial number 19038485 at March Field. Tice attended primary flight school at Hemet-Ryan Field in Hemet, California. Afterwards, he attended advanced flight training and earned his wings and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant with serial number O-421355. On June 21, 1941 became part of the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF). Later, promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant.

First Tour of Duty
During 1942 sent overseas to the South West Pacific Area (SWPA). Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 49th Fighter Group (49th FG), 9th Fighter Squadron (9th FS) "The Flying Knights" as pilot flying the P-38 Lightning based at 14 Mile Drome (Schwimmer) near Port Moresby.

On July 30, 1942 claimed a Japanese plane shot down, his first aerial victory claim.

By early 1943 promoted to the rank of Captain. Assigned P-38G "Elsie" Squadron Number 88.

On March 3, 1943 during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea took off leading a flight of P-38s over the Bismarck Sea but aborts the mission due to a loose fuel cap on a drop tank and lands at Horanda Airfield (Dobodura No. 4) to fix the issue. He took off again on a second sortie and alone provides an escort for eight B-17s bound for the Bismarck Sea but has a drop tank that will not release and and again aborts to return to Horanda Airfield (Dobodura No. 4) to fix the issue and refuel. On his third sortie off that day, he patrols over the Bismarck Sea over the area where P-38F Lightning 42-12623 pilot Captain Robert L. Faurot was last seen to search for any trace of the missing pilot. While flying at 22,000' spots a Japanese Ki-43 Oscar below and dives down and claims it as shot shot down scoring hits that caused it to flip over and spiral down until it disappeared into a low overcast, his second aerial victory claim.

On March 6, 1943 moves with the squadron Horanda Airfield near Dobodura. Later, hospitalized with malaria. On April 5, 1943 his plane P-38G "Elsie" Squadron Number 88 suffered a nose wheel failure after landing at Horanda Airfield (Dobodura No. 4) piloted by 1st Lt. John G. O'Neill and was damaged and written off while Tice had malaria.

At the conclusion of his first tour of duty, returns to the United States.

Second Tour of Duty
By 1945, promoted to the rank Lieutenant Colonel. On July 16 1945 became the Commanding Officer (C.O.) of 49th Fighter Group (49th FG). Assigned P-38L "Elsie" 44-????? Squadron Number 10 (Black 10) and operated from Lingayen Airfield on Luzon and later Okinawa.

First to land in the home islands of Japan
On August 25, 1945 at 8:05am took off from Motuba Airfield on Okinawa piloting P-38 Lightning with 310 gallon drop tank and a bomb leading "Jigger Red Flight" of eight P-38 from 7th Fighter Squadron (7th FS) on a patrol over Kyushu, Honshu, and Shikoku in Japan. The flight was scheduled to be six hours and 45 minutes of flying time and cover 1,370 miles. Inbound, two P-38 aborted the mission before reaching Kyushu.

At 9:50am the formation arrives over Makurazaki then the flight set a course bound for Nagasaki checking Japanese shipping on the route. At 10:25am arrived over Nagasaki then to Isahay (Isahaya), Omuta, Yanagawa, Kurume to Nakatsu by 11:22am and had flown approximately 600 miles. At this time, P-38 piloted by F/O Douglass C. Hall (no. 2 in the second flight) radioed that he was low on fuel and had a weak radio signal. Low on fuel, Hall would be unable to return to base. As an inexperienced pilot, Tice feared he would be unable to bail out safely and a water landing was also too risky.

At 11:43am Tice ordered the formation to jettison their bombs into the sea. Checking his map, Tice opted to investigate nearby Nittagahara Airfield on Kyushu. Although Japan had surrendered, no American forces had arrived to occupy the home islands of Japan and it was unclear what the situation would be on the group. Tice radioed RB‑17 Flying Fortress "Jukebox 36" from 6th Air Sea Rescue Squadron to come to their aid.

At 12:05pm Tice landed at Nittagahara Airfield (Nyūtabaru) and as the first American pilot to land in the home islands of Japan. On the ground, he kept his engines running in case he needed to take off quickly while the rest of the formation circled above watching for any signs of hostility. Once deemed safe, Tice radioed Hall to land. Several minutes later, a Japanese person on a bike noticed their planes and informed the Japanese Army. Soon afterwards, several soldiers appeared, saluted and shook hands with the pilots and spoke in broken Japanese and English and used pantomime gestures to offer them fuel. Meanwhile, a group of curious Japanese gathered including civilians and children to see them. The group included two Japanese officers with swords, the local mayor and a Shinto priest who blessed the plane.

Meanwhile, RB‑17 Flying Fortress "Jukebox 36" from 6th Air Sea Rescue Squadron lands to transfer fuel to Hall's P-38. Using a hand pump, RB-17 transfered fuel to Hall's P-38 and the group were photographed with the parked P-38. At the same time, a P-51 patrol arrived and appeared to begin an attack until radioed to wave off. One of the Japanese officers surrendered his sword to Tice. Afterwards, the two P-38s and RB-17 took off successfully and returned to base.

Aerial Victory Claims
Tice was officially credited by the USAAF with two aerial victories. His first victory claim was on July 30, 1942. His last victory claim was March 3, 1943. These were his only aerial victories during World War II.

Victory	Date	Location	Aircraft	Notes on claim
1	07/30/42	New Guinea		First aerial victory claim.
2	03/03/43	Bismarck Sea	Ki-43 Oscar	Second aerial victory claim.

Postwar
On August 24, 1972 he married in Los Angeles, CA.

Memorials
On July 15, 1988 died in Palm Desert, CA. He has an unknown burial or memorial.

Relatives
May Tice (mother)
Lacy Tice (brother born 1910 died 1929)

References
Note, some sources list the date of Tice's landing on Nittagahara Airfield as August 16, 1945 [sic August 25, 1945].
NARA U.S. Draft Registration - Clay Tice Jr.
NARA World War II Army Enlistment Card - Clay Tice Jr.
Historical Study No. 85 USAF Credits For The Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II Alphabetical: TIce, Clay Jr. page 188 (PDF page 196)
AV Web "Landing in Japan" July 19, 1998
South Pacific Air War (2024) page 178 (March 3, 1943)
Facebook "On August 25, 1945, a United States Army Air Forces P-38 Lightning fighter, piloted by Lt. Colonel Clay Tice, Jr. " Aug 25, 2025
Ancestry - Clay Tice Jr

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