Major Austin was the pilot of a B-26C Invader bomber with the 731th Bomber Squadron, attached to the 3rd Bomber Group based at Kunsan Air Force Base (K-8), Korea. On 27 April 1951, while on a night intruder mission contact with the aircraft was lost as it approached the target. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 31 January 1954. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Austin 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.