Corporal Thompson was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 279th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 24 January 1952. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

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