Second Lieutenant Kuney was the pilot of a F4U-4B Corsair fighter with Marine Fighter Squadron 323, Marine Air Group 12, 1st Marine Air Wing. On 26 March 1952, while on a bomb mission near Sinwon, Korea, the blast of the bombs caused structural failure and his aircraft to crash inverted. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Kuney was awarded the Air Medal with 3 Gold Stars, the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, 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.