Staff Sergeant Custard was the Platoon Sergeant of the 2nd Platoon Company H, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy on Hill 854 in Korea on 21 September 1951.

Custard was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, 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.