Private Plater was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy in Korea on 16 April 1951. He was presumed dead on 12 February 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Plater was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's 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.