“He was not just my college sweetheart but he was an American hero, died saving the lives of special operators,” Ginger Gilbert Ravella said about her late husband Major Troy Gilbert.
 
Texas Tech Alumni Gilbert Ravella was back on the Lubbock campus Tuesday evening to speak about Troy and his sacrifice to his fellow soldiers during the Iraq War in 2007.
 
Major Troy Gilbert was an F-16 fighter pilot with the U.S. Air Force. In 2007, he carried out a mission that his fellow soldiers said he did not have to risk his life for. But Ginger said that is just the type of man Troy was, and she knows he did not hesitate for his fellow soldiers when asked. 
 
“He didn’t hesitate that day, he didn’t hesitate to give up his life,” Ginger said.
 
That day during the mission in Afghanistan, Troy’s jet was shot down by enemy fire and officials say his body was taken by Taliban insurgents. 
 
“There were many days where I just prayed the lord would take me and the kids home because I just didn’t see life after Troy and I just couldn’t picture it and didn’t really want to picture it,” Ginger said.
 
However, Troy’s unit never gave up the search for his remains. 

After a 10 year search, his fellow soldiers found and recovered his remains and later brought them back to American soil. 

“I watch the military that carried the casket off the cargo plane the other day and I just say they were all different colors of skin, and I just thought that was a statement of who we are as a country,” Ginger said. “We’re not divided, we’re unified.”

Just three months ago, Troy’s body was laid to rest by Ginger, their five children together, and his fellow soldiers at the Arlington National Cemetery. 

“Arlington brought us a lot of closure,” Ginger said. “It was a hard day though. That was the closest we’ve been to him in ten years. Fallen families, their greatest fears is that their loved one would be forgotten and I just love how Tech has never forgotten Troy.”

Now Ginger uses her family’s story as a teaching tool for others looking for hope. 

“What is a fallen and wounded family,” Ginger said. “What is a gold star family’s life look like after someone doesn’t return home from combat or return home never the same. I also just want to raise awareness for the need out there, educational need, the government doesn’t provide everything like some people assume.”

Ginger is now happily remarried to another Air Force fighter pilot , Colonel Jim Ravella, and have seven children together. 

Using both of their life experiences of loss, Ginger and Jim wrote a book together called, “Hope Found” coming out this April.

“Maybe someone else who’s struggling with their hopes and dreams, or maybe wrestling a little bit with their faith, or maybe lost hope in our country, we want to renew that in people,” Ginger said.