Corporal Minard was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in South Korea on 13 August 1950 and returned to duty on 21 October 1950. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 26 November 1950 and died while a prisoner on 16 February 1951. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Minard was awarded the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, 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.