Master Sergeant Gustafson was a member of the 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in South Korea on 12 February 1951 and died while a prisoner on 25 May 1951.

Gustafson was awarded the Prisoner of War Medal, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, 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.