First Lieutenant May was the pilot of a F-80C Shooting Star fighter interceptor with the 8th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter Bomber Group. On 14 September 1950, while on a combat mission over Tabu-dong, Korea, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, crashed and burst into flames.

May was awarded the Purple Heart, 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.