Sergeant Boyd was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in North Korea on 27 November 1950 and returned to duty later that day. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy in South Korea on 12 February 1951. He was presumed dead on 18 February 1954. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Boyd was awarded the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, 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.