Captain Korstjens was a crew member of a B-29A Superfortress Bomber with the 343rd Bomber Squadron, 98th Bomber Wing. On June 1, 1951, while bombing a railroad bridge at Kwaksan, his aircraft was attacked by MiGs setting its wing on fire. Some crewmen were able to parachute into enemy lines. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on January 31, 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.