Born on September 20, 1975, Kevin Houston grew up on Cape Cod and graduated from Barnstable High School in 1994. Those who knew him remembered a young man who knew exactly what he wanted to become, and who set about becoming it without hesitation.

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in January 1995 and completed basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois. He first served in naval aviation as an aviation electrician's mate, then set his sights on the Teams. He completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, earned his Trident, and reported to the East Coast, serving with SEAL Team 4 and later the Naval Special Warfare Development Group.

Houston was decorated for valor more than once. His awards include two Bronze Star Medals with Combat "V", the Purple Heart, a Joint Service Commendation Medal with Combat "V", two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Presidential Unit Citation, among many others.

On August 6, 2011, Chief Houston was aboard the CH-47 Chinook helicopter, callsign Extortion 17, moving to reinforce a Quick Reaction Force sent to support U.S. Army Rangers engaged with the enemy in Wardak Province, Afghanistan. When insurgents struck the helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade, all 30 Americans aboard were lost, including 17 from the Naval Special Warfare community. It remains the greatest single-incident loss of life in Naval Special Warfare history.

Those who knew him said he died doing exactly what he had always wanted to do. He is remembered as a devoted husband and father of three, a proud son of Cape Cod, and a man who reached the goal he set for himself as a boy and never let go of it.