Sergeant Upton was the tail gunner of a B-26B Invader bomber with the 728th Bomber Squadron, 452nd Bomber Wing at Pusan Airfield East (K-9), South Korea. On 20 December 1950, after taking off, the aircraft crashed seven miles north of Natsue, Honshu, Japan, killing all on board. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Upton was awarded the Air Medal, 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.