Corporal Roten was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy in South Korea on 29 July 1950. He was presumed dead on 15 March 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Roten was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, 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.