 He volunteered to serve in Korea with the Fleet Marine Force (FMF) as a hospital corpsman attached to a Marine Corps unit, and on November 25, 1952, he reported for duty at the Field Medical Service School, Camp Pendleton, California, for field training.After completing the course and graduating as a FMF corpsman, he was assigned to 3rd Platoon, Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, which embarked for South Korea on February 5, 1953.On the night of March 26, 1953, Chinese soldiers in North Korea attacked, and on March 27, overran two of three Marine hill outposts in North Korea manned by Marines and corpsmen from the 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, named Vegas, Carson, and Reno (Vegas and Reno were overrun); Vegas was considered to be the most important outpost and the highest outpost that supported the other two outposts.