Technical Sergeant Sanders was a crew member of a B-29A Superfortress Bomber with the 371st Bomber Squadron, 307th Bomber Wing based at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. On 10 November 1950, while on a bombing mission near the Yalu River, his aircraft was shot down by six MiG-15s about seven miles southwest of Kusong, North Korea. He was taken Prisoner of War and died while a prisoner on 10 August 1951.

Sanders was awarded the Purple Heart, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.