Noel volunteered to cover the Korean War and accompanied the 7th Regiment of the 1st Marine Division. On his way to Chosin Reservoir, he was trapped with a marine unit under the command of Major John N. McLaughlin by enemy forces, but they fought their way free. Two months later, on November 29, 1950, after a convoy was trapped near the reservoir, he went for help in a jeep but was intercepted and captured by enemy forces. He spent the next 32 months in communist prison camps. He unsuccessfully attempted to escape three times, once only failing because he wouldn't leave behind an ill fellow prisoner. He was even able to take exclusive pictures for the AP from inside the camps. Noel was freed in 1953 as a result of Operation Big Switch.