Sergeant First Class Heritage was a veteran of World War II. In Korea, he was a member of Company B, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while his company was supporting Company I, 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, which had been overrun by the enemy near Kunu-ri, North Korea on 28 November 1950. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Heritage was awarded the Purple Heart, 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.