Corporal Osterkamp was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy during the Battle for "Heartbreak Ridge" in North Korea on 21 September 1951.

Osterkamp was awarded the Purple Heart, 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.