Corporal Shy was a Light Weapons Infantryman with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was listed as Missing in Action while attacking the enemy on Hills 717 and 682 in North Korea on 8 September 1951. He was presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Shy was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, 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.