Private First Class Mears was a member of the 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy near Hyhanggol, North Korea by an enemy mortar shell on 1 January 1952.

Mears 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.