Master Sergeant Tomlinson was a member of the 2nd Reconnaissance Company, 2nd Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in South Korea on 14 February 1951. He was presumed dead on 26 February 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Tomlinson was awarded the Purple Heart, 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.