Corporal Abbott was a Light Weapons Squad Leader in Company I, 3rd Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy along "Heartbreak Ridge" near Mundungi-ni, North Korea on 30 November 1952.

Abbott 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.