First Lieutenant Painter was the pilot of a F-80C Shooting Star fighter interceptor with the 35th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 8th Fighter Bomber Group. On 9 December 1952, while on a combat mission, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, crashed into the Han River. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 10 December 1953. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Painter was awarded the Air Medal, 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.