Private First Class McBroom was a member of Company C, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. On 4 January 1952, while blasting rock to construct a road near Chung-ni-dung, North Korea, he received fatal fragment wounds.

McBroom was awarded 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.