Private First Class Hummel was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in South Korea on 1 February 1951 and died of those wounds later that day.

Hummel was awarded 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.