Private First Class Mathews was a member of the 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 26 November 1950 and died while a prisoner on 2 February 1951.

Mathews was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman 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.