Private First Class Heaton was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy near Chindong-ni, South Korea on 3 September 1950.

Heaton was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman 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.