Lieutenant Colonel Black was a veteran of World War II. In Korea, he was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, 15th Air Force. On May 7, 1951, he was a aircraft commander of "Shady Lady", a B-29A Superfortress Bomber with the 345th Bomber Squadron, 98th Bomber Wing. While on a bombing mission over Pyongyang, North Korea, the aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and lost a wing. Several parachutes were seen leaving the plane. He was taken Prisoner of War and died while a prisoner on November 1, 1951. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.