Master Sergeant Tolleson was a member of Battery C, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was Listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 30 November 1950 and presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, Master Sergeant Tolleson was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, 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.