Biography
Born on August 30, 1921, Gilbert was the son of Daniel Gilbert and Henrietta Gonder of Polo, Illinois. The family eventually moved to Rippey, Iowa. Dwight graduated from Grand Junction Consolidated High School in 1939 where he was active in band, journalism, cheerleading, and was the senior class president.
He attended Drake University for two semesters before coming to Iowa State College. While at Iowa State he was an officer in several social and honorary fraternities. He was in ROTC, Scabbard and Blade, was involved in Veishea and many other activities. He graduated in 1943 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.
Dwight entered service on June 27, 1945 at Fort Leavenworth Kansas. He made second lieutenant on March 26, 1946 while stationed at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.
The plane Dwight was on had left Harmon Field, Guam, in the Marianas Islands. It had made contact with the control at Iwo Jima, but vanished from radar shortly thereafter. Weather conditions forced emergency rescue planes to return to base. Second Lieutenant Dwight Kenneth Gilbert was among the 23 servicemen who lost their lives when their C-47 transport crashed into the sea near Iwo Jima on November 16, 1946.
Memorial Services were held in the Beaver School Auditorium on Sunday 22, 1946, 2:30pm, near Rippey, Iowa.
**Pacificwrecks.com tells a different story of the plane crash: First, their transport, a C-46-1-CU "Commando," had crashed November 16, 1946. One eyewitness, Gareth Rosson, claims that the plane landed only 600 feet off of the Island, not 15 miles away. Low clouds and mist hindered the search, which began at 1:00 am on November 17. Later and oil slick and debris was found, but no survivors. Dwight Gilbert and the rest of the crew are memorialized on the tablets of the missing at the Hawaii Cemetery (Punchbowl)."
Source: http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/c-46/44-78961.html Accessed: February 22, 2012.