Former Wichita-area classmates says they will long remember a 34-year-old Air Force master sergeant killed recently in a training exercise in Arizona.

Air Force Master Sgt. Josh Gavulic, a 1997 Derby High School graduate, was killed Feb. 21 while taking part in a parachute training exercise in Eloy, Ariz. Gavulic, who was rated a jump master and helped plan joint operations, was killed during a free fall.

Gavulic served with the Air Force’s 17th Special Tactics Squadron at Fort Benning, Ga.

Colin Miller, a Derby High classmate, says he’s still in disbelief over the death.

Another former classmate, Jenny Ammerman, says Gavulic leaves behind a wife and six children, the youngest is 16 months.

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Associated Press information from: The Wichita Eagle