First Lieutenant Frey was the pilot of a F-80C Shooting Star fighter interceptor with the 16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Group. On 13 May 1951, while providing a Combat Air Patrol (CAP) for a downed aircraft, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, crashed and exploded.

Frey was awarded the Purple Heart, 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.