Corporal Short was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in South Korea on 6 September 1950 and returned to duty on 29 September 1950. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy near Kunu-ri, North Korea, on 28 November 1950 and died while a prisoner on 12 March 1951. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Short was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, 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.