Lieutenant Porterfield was a veteran of World War II. In Korea, he was the pilot of a F4U-4B Corsair fighter with Fighter Squadron 653 aboard carrier USS VALLEY FORGE (CV-45). On December 9, 1951, while conducting refresher air operations in TARE Area, his aircraft collided with another F4U-4B and crashed into the water. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.