Staff Sergeant Kirby was a crew member of a B-29A Superfortress Bomber with the 93rd Bomber Squadron, 19th Bomber Wing based at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. On 12 April 1951, while on a bombing mission, his aircraft was attacked by an enemy MiGs and it was ditched. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 31 January 31, 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Kirby was awarded the Air Medal with 8 Oak Leaf Clusters, 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.