Private First Class Betts was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy on Hill 931 on "Heartbreak Ridge" in the Satae-ri Valley of North Korea on 22 September 1951, from enemy artillery fire.

Betts was awarded the Purple Heart, 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.