Private First Class Curtin was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team attached to the 25th Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 6 September 1952.

Curtin 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.