Sergeant First Class McNeal was a member of the 29th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was seriously wounded while fighting the enemy near Hadong, South Korea on 28 July 1950 and died of those wounds later that day.

McNeal 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.