Sergeant First Class Wilbanks was a member of the 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy near Kunu-ri, North Korea on 30 November 1950 and died of those wounds on 30 December 1950.

Wilbanks 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.