Later he was inducted into the United States Army during World War I, and served as a private.
After the war, he attended the School of Mines at Golden, Colorado and then studied at the PAFA.
He settled in Laguna Beach, California in 1920 and furthered his art studies with Galen Doss, Thelma Paddock Hope, and Clyde Scott.
During his job at the United States Postal Service, he painted in his leisure time.
Babcock died in Huntington Beach, CA on June 11, 1981 and he and his wife, Hazel Ethlyn, and son, Lloyd R. Babcock, are buried in Fairhaven Memorial Park, Santa Ana, Orange County, CA.