Sergeant First Class Royal was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy near Kunu-ri, North Korea on 29 November 1950. He was presumed dead on 31 December1953. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, Sergeant First Class Royal was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman 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.