Private First Class Powell was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy near Hadong, South Korea on 27 July 1950. He was presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Powell was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman 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.