Hometown: San Angelo, TX
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Unit: 309th Fighter Squadron, Luke Air Force Base
Military Honors: Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: November 27, 2006 - KIA near Baghdad, Iraq
Age: 34
Conflict: Iraq War, 2003-2011

From the time he was a young boy, Troy Gilbert was fascinated with aviation. He was born on February 19, 1972, to Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Ron Gilbert and his wife Kaye, at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier, Louisiana.

His family fondly recalls a photo taken when they lived at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas. Ten-year-old Troy is the only member of his Little League team not looking into the camera. Instead, he’s straining to watch a T-38 jet trainer flying overhead.

Gilbert went on to study at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, where he enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). There he met his future wife, Ginger, and the two later transferred to Texas Tech University (Lubbock). Troy graduated in 1993 with a degree in international economics. The couple married soon after graduation.

Shortly after getting his degree, Gilbert enrolled in Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. His first assignment came in January of 1995, when he was appointed Chief of Protocol for the 48th Fighter Wing, stationed at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, Suffolk, U.K.

The Gilberts later moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where Troy was assigned as Protocol Officer for the Air Force Academy’s Superintendent—Lt. Gen. Tad Oelstrom. While at the Academy, Gilbert was told that he’d been accepted for pilot training. Lt. Gen. Oelstrom offered to change Glibert’s orders, allowing him to begin pilot training immediately. But out of loyalty to his new boss, Gilbert deferred for a year.

In the year 2000, realizing his dream of becoming a pilot, Gilbert graduated near the top of his class in the 80th Flying Training Wing’s Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. He chose to fly the F-16 “Fighting Falcon,” a single-seat, single-engine fighter jet.

Gibert completed his F-16 training at Luke Air Force Base, 15 miles west of Phoenix, Arizona. In May of 2001, he was assigned to the 555th Fighter Squadron stationed at NATO’s Aviano Air Base north of Venice, Italy. There he picked up his call sign: Trojan.

In 2004, Gilbert returned to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona to serve as an instructor training other pilots. He also served as an advance agent for Air Force One during the term of President George W. Bush.

Brigadier General Tom Jones, Commander of Luke Air Force Base’s 56th Fighter Wing, described Maj. Gilbert. “He is an outstanding officer, an outstanding pilot, and an outstanding friend to many people here at Luke. But most importantly, above all else, he treasures his family and is a man of strong faith and conviction.” By the end of 2006, the Gilberts had five children—Boston (8), Greyson (6), Isabella (3), and 6-month-old twins Aspen and Annalise.

In September of 2006, the U.S. was at war in Iraq, and Maj. Gilbert volunteered to deploy with the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing stationed at Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While there, Gilbert regularly volunteered at the base hospital, spending time with patients and performing menial jobs. A devoted Christian, Maj. Gilbert also spent many hours supporting the unit’s chapel.

Major Gilbert logged more than 100 combat hours in the skies over Iraq. On November 27, on a flight returning to base, he received an urgent call about American soldiers pinned down by al Qaeda insurgents.

According to the U.S. Air Force account:

On Nov. 27, 2006, Gilbert and his wingman were flying back to base when they got the call that an AH-6 Little Bird helicopter had been shot down. Enemy insurgents had the crew, along with the coalition forces called in to support, outnumbered and pinned down.

With little fuel left, the two F-16 pilots changed course and headed to the hotly contested war zone just outside of Taji, Iraq. Due to fuel limitations, the pilots were forced to take turns refueling and providing air support to the troops under fire. By the time Gilbert was able to make his first approach, the calls for support had grown more urgent. Insurgents attacked with truck-mounted heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, small arms fire and mortars.

Gilbert, a friendly Texas Tech graduate dubbed “Trojan” by his fellow aviators, acted quickly and aggressively. To avoid causing civilian casualties by dropping the bombs he carried under his wings, he opted for low-altitude strafing passes using his 20-millimeter Gatling gun. Gilbert made his first pass, destroying one truck and dispersing the others which were almost upon the friendly forces 20 miles northwest of Baghdad. Keeping his eye on the enemy targets moving at high speed, he conducted a second pass from an even lower altitude.

He continued firing on the enemy forces during a dynamic and difficult flight profile, impacting the ground at high speed on the second pass. Reports say the crash killed him instantly. However, Al Qaeda insurgents took Gilbert’s body before U.S. forces were able to get to the scene, leading to 10 long years of a family waiting for their husband, father, son, and brother to come home.

While serving his country, Maj. Gilbert put his own safety aside and saved many lives that day. His actions not only protected many civilians but also saved the lives of more than 20 Special Operations soldiers.

The Army commander whose troops were being protected by Gilbert’s F-16 later said that Maj. Gilbert saved his unit from “almost certain disaster.” In a letter to Gilbert’s wife Ginger, he wrote, “With no ability to protect ourselves on the desert floor, we most certainly would have sustained heavy casualties. Troy, however, stopped that from happening. His amazing display of bravery and tenacity immediately broke up the enemy formation and caused them to flee in panic. My men and I will never forget the ultimate sacrifice your husband made for me and my men on Nov. 27th, and we will always be in his debt."

At the end of ten long years of persistence from the Gilbert family and heroic efforts by Special Forces and hundreds of soldiers, Major Troy Gilbert came home at last. On December 19, 2016, the family laid him to rest among other heroes who sacrificed everything for their country.

Major Troy Lee Gilbert is at rest at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 60, Site 8520.

In January of 2008, the Maj. Gilbert Bridge was dedicated at Luke Air Force Base (Phoenix, Arizona) in his honor. At Maxwell Air Force Base (Montgomery, Alabama), Building 1487 of the Officer Training School Complex was dedicated as Gilbert Hall in 2009.

Sources
Card photo provided by the family
Folds of Honor presents the story of Ginger Ravella (Video)
U.S. Air Force: Remains of fighter pilot hero return home after 10 years
Arlington National Cemetery: Troy Lee Gilbert – Major, United States Air Force
TIME: An American Hero Comes Home, at Last
Air Force Times: After 10-year search, remains of F-16 pilot killed in Iraq are home
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Troy Gilbert’s Odyssey
Washington Post, Faces of the Fallen: Maj. Troy L. Gilbert
Burial Site: Find a Grave