First Lieutenant Hoffman was the pilot of a F-51D Mustang night fighter with the 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 18th Fighter Bomber Wing. On December 8, 1951, while on a combat mission of hitting the enemy with napalm, a napalm tank disengaged, hit a ridge and exploded, causing his aircraft to crash. He was listed as Missing in Action and presumed dead on December 31, 1953. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.