Private First Class Head was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy near Tosong-Kogae, North Korea, on 23 April 1951 and died while a prisoner on 21 July 1951.

Head was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, 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.