Staff Sergeant Travis was a veteran of World War II. During the Korean War, he the radio operator on a B-50D jet bomber with the 342nd Bomber Squadron, 97th Bomber Wing stationed at Biggs Air Force Base, El Paso, Texas. On 13 July 1950, the aircraft was on a training mission when it crashed on a farm near Mason, Ohio, exploded and killed all sixteen on board.

Travis was awarded the National Defense Service Medal.