Corporal Pitterson was a Light Weapons Infantryman with the 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 2 December 1950 and died while a prisoner on 31 December 1951.

Pitterson was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Prisoner of War Metal, 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.