First Lieutenant Layton was the pilot of a F-86A Sabrejet fighter interceptor with the 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Group. On 2 September 1951, while on a combat mission, his flight of two F-86s fought with a flight of six MiG-15s. When his aircraft was hit, he bailed out near the mouth of the Chongchon River. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 31 March 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Layton was awarded the 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.