First Lieutenant Coffee was the pilot of a F-80C Shooting Star fighter interceptor with the 80th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 8th Fighter Bomber Group. On 8 May 1952, while on a combat mission, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, burst into flames and crashed. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, First Lieutenant Coffee was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, 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.