Corporal Hopkins was a veteran of World War II. In Korea, he was a member of the 811th Engineer Aviation Construction Battalion. On 6 November 1950, while he was working on the Kimpo Air Field (K-14), a F-80 jet fighter crashed nearby killing him.

Hopkins was awarded the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, the Republic of Korea War Service Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.