Captain Rhoads was the pilot of a RF-80A Lockheed Shooting Star photo reconnaissance aircraft with the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. On July 27, 1953, while on a combat mission near Taejon Airfield (K-5), South Korea, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, burst into flames destroying the tail section and crashed. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.