Master Sergeant Powell was a member of Battery D, 15th Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Automatic Weapons) Battalion, 7th Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea on 28 November 1950. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, Master Sergeant Powell was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, 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.