Master Sergeant Long was a member of the 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was seriously Wounded in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 2 June 1951 and died of those wounds later that day.

Long 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.