Corporal Saunders was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy near the 38th Parallel on 17 May 1951. He died as a prisoner from malnutrition near the 38th Parallel on 12 June 1951. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Saunders was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, 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.