Private First Class King was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy near Wonju, South Korea on 7 January 1951. He became ill and died as a prisoner from malnutrition on 31 March 1951. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

King was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.