Memorial service held for ACC director of safety

  • Published
  • Air Combat Command Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. --  Family, friends and coworkers gathered to celebrate the life of Col. Billy J. Gilstrap Jr. during a memorial service at the Langley Chapel May 2. 

Colonel Gilstrap, Air Combat Command director of safety, died of cancer in his home April 27. 

Known as "Strapper" by coworkers and friends, the colonel was a husband, son, father, brother, friend and fellow Airman, said Chaplain (Col.) Bobby Page, command chaplain.

"We miss him and we grieve his absence in all of those roles," said Chaplain Page. "But knowing Strapper, he would not want us to focus only on the grief, so we've come here also to celebrate the fact that Jim lived 52 full years, made rich by his love of flying, his service to country, the joy of family, simple pleasures like Clemson football ... I think he enjoyed it especially when they were winning."

Colonel Gilstrap was born in Greenville, S.C., Aug. 9, 1956. After receiving a degree in political science from Clemson University in 1978, he was commissioned through U.S. Air Force Officer Training School Program. He entered active duty Sept. 18, 1981, and fulfilled his lifelong dream of flying after attending undergraduate pilot training at Vance Air Force Base, Okla. In 1990, the colonel graduated from Embry-Riddle University with a Master of Arts in Aeronautical Science Technology. He also graduated Squadron Officers School, Air Command and Staff College and Air War College. 

Throughout more than 27 years of service, Colonel Gilstrap served honorably during numerous assignments in the Air Force.

At the 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., Colonel Gilstrap was chief of standardization and evaluation. He then moved to Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and served as operations officer for the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron before returning to Seymour Johnson as commander of the 333rd Fighter Squadron. He later returned to Nellis as test director, working for the Office of the Secretary of Defense before his final assignment at Langley. 

An accomplished aviator in the F-4 Phantom and F-15E Strike Eagle, Colonel Gilstrap had more than 3,700 flight hours as a command pilot.

Colonel Gilstrap's military awards include the Legion of Merit, Defense Superior Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters.

Remaining to honor their most cherished memories of him are his wife, Jennifer Gilstrap; his mother, G'Nell Gilstrap; his brother, Thomas Gilstrap; and his children, Elizabeth and Jarred. Colonel Gilstrap was preceded in death by his father, Billy J. Gilstrap Sr.