Sergeant First Class Crawford was a member of the 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was wounded while fighting in South Korea on 31 August 1950 and returned to duty 9 September 1950. He was wounded in North Korea on 28 November 1950 and returned to duty on 5 December 1950. He was wounded again on 9 March 1951 and returned to duty on 23 April 1951. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 2 June 1951.

Crawford was awarded the Purple Heart with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, 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.