Sergeant King was a member of Battery A, 90th Field Artillery Battalion, 25th Infantry Division. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy in South Korea on 12 August 1950. He was presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His remains have been recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

King 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.