Captain Hewitt was the pilot of a C-119B "Flying Boxcar" transport with the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron, 314th Troop Carrier Group. On 16 January 1952, while on a mission, both engines separate from the aircraft in flight and the aircraft crashed into the sea. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Hewitt 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.