Sergeant King was a veteran of World War II. In Korea, he was a member of Battery B, 58th Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division. On 22 August 1951, he was in a truck accident near Ui-Jongbu, South Korea, and was killed.

King was awarded the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean War Service Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.