Sergeant Dalton was a member of Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 187th Airborne Infantry Regimental Combat Team. On 5 April 1951, he was running an electric line from a Korean power line into his tent near Taegu, South Korea, when he was electrocuted.

Dalton was awarded 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.