Lieutenant Junior Grade Tatum was the pilot of a F9F-2 Pantherjet fighter with Fighter Squadron 52, aboard carrier USS Valley Forge (CV-45). On 19 February 1952, while making a glide run on a railroad cut, his aircraft was struck by anti-aircraft fire, crashed into a mountain and exploded. His remains were not recovered.

Tatum was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, 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.