Private Ratcliff was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division. On 15 April 1952, he died of asphyxiation when his bunker collapsed as he slept near Kumsong, North Korea.

Ratcliff was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Korean War Service Medal.