Lieutenant Junior Grade Nixon was the pilot of a F9F-4 Pantherjet fighter with Fighter Squadron 91, aboard the carrier USS Philippine Sea (CV-47). On 1 March 1953, while on a combat mission over North Korea, his aircraft was struck by anti-aircraft fire and crashed.

Nixon was awarded 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.