First Lieutenant King was the co-pilot of a B-26B Invader bomber with the 37th Bomber Squadron, 17th Bomber Wing. On 23 February 1953, while on a night interdiction mission on enemy railroads, contact was lost with the aircraft. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 24 February 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

King was awarded the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, 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.