He enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 27, 1942, and from October 1944 to July 1945 saw active service in the Rhineland. He was awarded the European Theater of Operations Medal, the Victory Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal. He was remembered by his Section Chief, Norman E. Koehn, as a first-class soldier who never drank, swore, or chased girls, a smart but quiet man who spent much time reading his Bible and writing long letters to his mother. But his hobby was guns, and his marksmanship, noted Koehn, was deadly. He was honorably discharged at the end of the war, after which he returned to New Jersey to live with his mother.