Troy Gilbert has services ahead of burial at Arlington

A graveside service is Monday for Maj. Troy L. Gilbert, a Luke Air Force Base fighter pilot who was killed in Iraq.

The interment, including full military honors and a flyover, will be at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, D.C., officials said.

It will come just days after nearly 1,800 mourners, including his widow and children, gathered in Avondale to honor the fallen aviator.

The memorial service for Gilbert, 34, described by associates as a deeply religious man, was Wednesday at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 13720 W. Thomas Road, Avondale.

His widow, Ginger, the mother of their five children, was escorted inside the spacious church by an Air Force officer, one of hundreds of Luke personnel on hand for the 80-minute service.

"Ginger was the love of his life," according to remarks in the program.

"Wherever they went, they were a team, and Troy never took her support or sacrifice for granted. That love eventually blossomed into five beautiful children who stole his heart."

Officiating at the service was Steve Engram, pastor of Desert Springs Community Church, an El Mirage congregation where Troy Gilbert served in several volunteer capacities, including as a Sunday greeter.

The Catholic church was made available to the Gilberts to accommodate the large crowd expected for the service.

During the service, the Air Force made a posthumous award of a Distinguished Flying Cross With Valor.

Outside the church, dozens of members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts, gathered to pay their respects, nearly 60 of them carrying U.S. flags.

"I'm here to honor the family and the airman," said Harold Thomas, 54, a member of the group and a consulting engineer who lives in Peoria.

"We appreciate his service to the country and the sacrifice he made in defending our rights and freedoms."

Gilbert, known as "Trojan," was a 12-year Air Force veteran who lived in the Litchfield Park area with family.

He was flying in support of combat operations when his F-16C fighter-bomber went down Nov. 27 about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad.

Last Saturday, the Air Force confirmed his death. The crash remains under investigation.

From the Republic

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