Sergeant Avery was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was wounded in North Korea on 7 November 1950 and returned to duty on 25 January 1951. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy near Inje in the "Punchbowl" area of North Korea on 30 May 1951and was presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Avery was awarded the Purple Heart with 2 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, the Republic of Korea War Service Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.