James Kepka serving in Utah, Persian Gulf

James “Chip” Kepka graduated in 1999 from Medical Lake High School and went on to Washington State University in the ROTC program. He was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force as a second lieutenant upon graduation in 2003. He was assigned to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona as an aircraft maintenance officer and helped organize a blood drive for two years at the base.

In 2007 Capt. Kepka was assigned to a fighter squadron in South Korea. While there he taught an English-speaking program to local elementary school children with several other service members.

In 2008 he was assigned to a fighter squ...