Sergeant Ernest was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 9 July 1953. He was presumed dead on 10 July 1954. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, Sergeant Ernest was awarded the Silver Star Medal, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Combat Infantryman's 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.