Private First Class Mead was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 4 October 1951.

Mead was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman 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.