Captain Gleason was a member of the 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy near Hoengsong, South Korea on 13 February 1951 and died of those wounds on 10 July 1951.

Gleason was awarded 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.