Sergeant First Class Spruell was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was seriously wounded while fighting the enemy at DT202396 in North Korea on 4 September 1952 and died of those wounds later that day.

Spruell 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.