Lee Brice Pays Tribute to U.S. Air Force Maj. Troy Lee Gilbert During Full Military Honors Funeral Service at Arlington National Cemetery

Lee Brice pays tribute to U.S. Air Force Maj. Troy Lee Gilbert during full military honors funeral service at Arlington National Cemetery on December 19, 2016 in Arlington, Virginia. Gilbert is laid to rest 10 years after his F-16 crashed while he protected U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq. Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images
Arlington, VA — The full military honors funeral service for U.S. Air Force Maj. Troy Lee Gilbert was held on December 19 at Arlington National Cemetery. Family friend Lee Brice paid tribute to Troy by delivering a moving version of “Go Rest High On That Mountain” during the private chapel service held in the Old Post Chapel on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, attended by Troy’s mother and father, Kaye and retired Senior Master Sgt. Ron Gilbert; sister, Rhonda Jimmerson; wife, Ginger Gilbert Ravella; sons, Boston and Greyson; and daughters, Isabella, Aspen and Annalise.
 
Lee Brice first met Ginger Gilbert Ravella and her family at a Folds of Honor event in 2015. 
 
“Lee and I connected over his song ‘I Drive Your Truck’ and I told him how much we, as fallen families, cling to pieces left of those we love,” says Ginger.  
 
Ginger Gilbert Ravella says final goodbye to husband, Troy Lee Gilbert. Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images

“Troy sold his old beloved truck for a new one about a month before he found out he was deploying. Things were starting to break on his old one, and he needed a reliable ride. Just a week before he took off for Iraq, he said ‘I think we need to sell my new truck. We really can’t afford to make payments while I am gone.’ So we sold it and he left. Years later when Lee’s song came out, it wasn’t the new truck I wished we still had. It was the old one; the one that belonged to Troy’s Dad first, the one Troy drove for years, the one I knew (my sons) Boston and Greyson would get a kick out of.”

“Singing at Troy’s funeral was a moment I’ll never forget.” Says Lee. “I’m grateful for Troy’s sacrifice and I admire Ginger and her family for their sacrifice, also. I can’t imagine what they went through and I’m honored to have been a part of this special moment with this incredibly strong family,” says Lee.

Maj. Troy Gilbert was killed when his F-16C Fighting Falcon crashed 20 miles northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Nov. 27, 2006, while engaged in support of coalition ground combat operations. Gilbert, who was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor, deployed in September 2006 from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Balad Air Base, Iraq. He was assigned as the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Group chief of standardization and evaluation. On the day of the accident, he was flying with the 524th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron.

Reference articles about Maj. Troy Lee Gilbert:
Time Magazine Mark Thompson, December 1, 2016
CNN Ross Levitt, December 9, 2016
Fox & Friends Coverage of Full Honors Funeral, December 20, 2016

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