First Lieutenant Gardner was the pilot of a F-84G Thunderjet fighter with the 7th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter-Bomber Group. On 30 May 1953, while on an operational mission, his aircraft crashed near Anyang-ni, South Korea.

Gardner was awarded the Purple Heart, 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.