First Lieutenant Goodman was the pilot of a F-84E Thunderjet fighter with the 430th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 474th Fighter-Bomber Group. On 21 February 1953, he was returning from a mission when his aircraft exploded midair and crashed near Kunsan, South Korea.

Goodman 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.