GILBERT KENNETH D

MAJ Kenneth D Gilbert was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 01/31/1987 at the age of 52.4 from Heart Attack
Abbeville, LA
Flight Class 65-2
Date of Birth 09/12/1934
Served in the U.S. Army
Served in Vietnam with 118 AVN in 65
This information was provided by Ted Jambon was in 118th with him

More detail on this person: I had been working with Ken at PHI prior to his death in 1987. He was diagnosed with cancer of the spine prior to his heart attack.He had moved to Abbeville and I was still working in Venice, La so I didn't get over to see him until it was to late. He was my neighbor at Ft. Benning in 1969 and enjoyable guy to work with.

From: Malcolm Lathers

Ken was in our class ORWAC 65-2 - he was older and calmer than most of us, having served in the Korean War, and I think decorated, as enlisted, probably as a teenager. After Korea, he stayed in the Army and was on the Army Skeet team for several years - hell, I didn't even know the Army had a skeet team. He went to OCS at Benning, I believe - so he could fly. He was a recent OCS graduate. Ken and I went to the Ft. Rucker skeet range one day during flt school and he opened some really cool gun cases - he gave me a nice 12 ga. to assemble and he took a 20 or 28 ga. He shot a 24 or 25 out of 25 regularly. I was lucky to get 10 out of 25 - which later helped being a Gunnie in UH-1Bs - where our area weapon rockets were aimed at anywhere in SE Asia - I improved to 20 out of 25 there.

Ken was mild, relaxed, and a really good guy. I wish we had been in the same unit in 1965-66. I never saw him again after flight school, and was so sorry to hear of his early passing at 52.

Joe "Ron" Bower, Rebel 21 GILBERT KENNETH D MAJ Kenneth D Gilbert was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 01/01/1987 at the age of 52.3 (Exact date not known.) from Heart Attack Abbeville, LA Flight Class 65-2 Date of Birth 09/12/1934 Served in the U.S. Army Served in Vietnam with 118 AVN in 65 This information was provided by Ted Jambon was in 118th with him More detail on this person: I had been working with Ken at PHI prior to his death in 1987. He was diagnosed with cancer of the spine prior to his heart attack.He had moved to Abbeville and I was still working in Venice, La so I didn't get over to see him until it was to late. He was my neighbor at Ft. Benning in 1969 and enjoyable guy to work with. From: Malcolm Lathers Ken was in our class ORWAC 65-2 - he was older and calmer than most of us, having served in the Korean War, and I think decorated, as enlisted, probably as a teenager. After Korea, he stayed in the Army and was on the Army Skeet team for several years - hell, I didn't even know the Army had a skeet team. He went to OCS at Benning, I believe - so he could fly. He was a recent OCS graduate. Ken and I went to the Ft. Rucker skeet range one day during flt school and he opened some really cool gun cases - he gave me a nice 12 ga. to assemble and he took a 20 or 28 ga. He shot a 24 or 25 out of 25 regularly. I was lucky to get 10 out of 25 - which later helped being a Gunnie in UH-1Bs - where our area weapon rockets were aimed at anywhere in SE Asia - I improved to 20 out of 25 there. Ken was mild, relaxed, and a really good guy. I wish we had been in the same unit in 1965-66. I never saw him again after flight school, and was so sorry to hear of his early passing at 52. Joe "Ron" Bower, Rebel 21 This information was last updated 05/18/2016

Burial information: Saint Mary Magdalen Cemetery, Abbeville, LA

This information was last updated 05/22/2018

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Date posted on this site: 01/11/2025