Kirkpatrick was raised in Wichita, Kansas, and joined the Navy in 2007. He became a hospital corpsman and, within two years, went to the "greenside," field medical training to treat Marines in combat.

The Navy announced Tuesday that Soviak, who was assigned to 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif., was promoted to the rank of Hospital Corpsman Third Class on Sept. 2.