As a captain, he was assigned to the Air Proving Ground Command at Eglin AFB, Florida, in 1951, where he served as a project officer during the Korean War, deploying TDY to Korea to perform a test under combat conditions with the 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing in the modified F-86F-2 Sabre, upgunned with the M39 cannon.

[1] On 30 April 1953, on his 54th mission, Moore was forced to bail out of disabled F-86F-2, 51–2803, due to an engine stall following cannon-firing,[6] approximately 20 miles north of Ch'o Do Island,[7] coming down in the Yellow Sea.

[10] Returning to Eglin by the last quarter of 1953, Moore was one of seven fighter pilots "who made exceptional records in Korea" profiled by Collier's Magazine in the October issue.

Moore was making his first flight in the new fighter design but the jet pitched up[14] and crashed in the center of the airfield just after becoming airborne, appearing to explode on impact.

Although the crash site was only 200 yards (180 m) from the fire station, and the blaze extinguished within three minutes, the pilot had no chance to escape and was killed.