He entered military service in February 1938 as an aviation cadet at Randolph Field, Texas, and received his pilot's wings a year later.

Compton spent the next two and a half years at Langley Field, Virginia, with the 2nd Bomb Wing, the first unit equipped with the B-17 Flying Fortress.

In February 1943, Compton became commander of the 376th Bomb Group in Africa and, on 1 August 1943, led the disastrous air attack on the Ploesti oil refineries in Romania.

[citation needed] An avid golfer, Compton won the 1978 U.S. Senior Amateur, 1 up, over Maj Gen John W. Kline and in 1980 finished runner-up to William C.

[1] He was buried next to his wife Mary Margaret (Swenson) Compton (20 March 1916 – 26 October 2003)[2] in Section 68 of Arlington National Cemetery on 9 August 2004.