Sergeant Gotney was a member of the 4th Airborne Ranger Company, 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. He was killed by small arms fire while penetrating sixteen miles into enemy territory in North Korea on 24 June 1951.

Gotney 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.