“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