Second Lieutenant Tidwell was a member of the 1st Amphibian Tractor Company, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in Korea on 24 December 1950. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, Second Lieutenant Tidwell was awarded the Navy Cross, the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, 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.