Captain Kepley was the navigator of a B-26C with the 731st Bomber Squadron, attached to the 3rd Bomber Group based at Iwakuni, Japan. On 2 December 1950, while on a night intruder mission, contact was lost after a communication check as the aircraft was entering the target area near Seoul, South Korea. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 31 January 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Kepley was awarded the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.