First Lieutenant Nevins was the pilot of a F-84E Thunderjet fighter with the 310th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 58th Fighter-Bomber Group. On 14 October 1952, while on a combat mission, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, the wing tank exploded and the plane crashed. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Nevins was awarded the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, 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.