First Lieutenant Arnold was the pilot of a F-86E Sabrejet fighter bomber with the 16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Group. On 11 March 1952, while on a combat mission, his aircraft was damaged by a MiG-15 and crash landed on Cho-do Island. He did not survive.

Arnold was awarded the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Korean War Service Medal.