Private First Class Bland was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in South Korea on 6 September 1950 and returned to duty on 24 November 1950. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy near Chong-Pyong, South Korea on 25 April 1951.

Bland was awarded the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, 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.