Colonel Prendergast was the pilot of a F-84E Thunderjet fighter with Headquarters Squadron, 136th Fighter Bomber Wing. On 5 November 1951, while returning from a combat mission, his aircraft ran out of fuel near Chwachen-ni, South Korea, eight miles north of Pusan East Airfield (K-9). His bail out was unsuccessful.

Colonel Prendergast 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.