CHESTER "Chet" CHARLES GILBERT was born in Las Vegas, NV, when Las Vegas was a far cry from the world-class resort it has become. Dry, dusty, and with little more than a rail stop to justify its existence, the community taught Chet Gilbert the value of a close family and hard work and gave him an appreciation for water, which took him far later in life.

His father, Chester, supported the family as a grocer, while his mother, Margaret, kept the family of three children together. Chet was active in Boy Scouts and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 1939. Graduating from Las Vegas High School in 1942 and determined to enter the Academy, young Chet enrolled at the Braden School in Cornwall, NY, to improve his appointment chances. His efforts were rewarded when he was appointed by Sen. Pat Mccarran, Nevada, and entered West Point in 1944.

As the cadets formed nightly in the late 1940s for supper formation, they were entertained by the bell tones, played by Chet Gilbert, emanating from the Protestant Chapel. Because illness forced Chet back a year, he graduated and was commissioned in 1949.

Shortly after graduation, Chet married Barbara, the daughter of the mayor of Colton, CA, whom he had met in 1945 while on a brief stay in southern California. Ever since their wedding, she once said, "It's been like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride."

Fascinated by aviation ever since he saw barnstormers thrill crowds along the banks of the Colorado River as a child, Chet entered the Air Force after commissioning and completed pilot training at Goodfellow AFB, TX, before taking a training job at Lackland AFB. From 1955-56, in the wake of the Korean War, he served as Senior Flying Training Advisor to the Republic of Korea Air Force.

Returning to the States in 1956, Chet instructed Air Force ROTC, later becoming Commandant of Cadets at the University of Colorado, followed by three years as a manpower management officer and squadron commander at Mather AFB in California. He also earned a master's degree in business management from the University of Colorado during this period.

Chet was assigned to Wiesbaden Air Base, Germany, in 1963 as Chief of Manpower and Chief of Management Engineering for Military Air Transport Service units throughout Europe, Africa, and the Near East. He was moved, along with Barbara and their children, to Chateroux, France, in 1965. During their stay, Charles de Gaulle expelled the American military from France, which Chet always insisted wasn't his fault.

In 1966, the family returned to the States, and Chet was assigned to Air Force headquarters. There, he headed manpower and management-engineering functions for more than 60,000 aerial port positions and for the air operations staff function worldwide.

Retiring in 1969 from active duty with 20 years of service, Chet, along with Barbara and their seven children, returned to southern California. They settled near Riverside in the small community of Sunnymead, adjacent to March AFB. For the 30-plus years that followed, the community grew, and Chet expanded his horizons right along with it.

Chet took a position as vice president and branch manager of a local bank. He later left to become the first president of a new, start-up bank. He quickly became a highly respected member of the community, getting involved in everything from Boy Scouts and recreation to politics, hospitals, and water (which, in California, is as valuable as gold). He also played prominent roles on the Riverside County Parks Facilities Corporation and in regional economic development.

Chet was elected in 1974 to the first of five four-year terms on the board of directors of the regional water and wastewater district. It was a time of unprecedented growth in the region, and Chet's insight and leadership helped the hard-pressed water agency keep up with mushrooming demand. During his 21 years on the board, he served four two-year terms as its president. He was extremely active in the process that established Lake Perris, the southern terminus of California's world-famous State Water Project, and he was a gubernatorial appointee to the Lake Perris Advisory Committee.

Chet Gilbert also played a major role in resolving critical water issues on a far broader level. He was president from 1996-97 of the statewide Association of California Water Agencies, the world's largest water lobbying organization, and he spent five years as a director of the huge Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Though heavily occupied with water issues, he didn't turn his back on his community during this period. He was long active in the area's Military Affairs Committee, which supports March AFB, and served many years as an honorary commander at the base.

Chet was president of the local Chamber of Commerce and, in 1976, was Sunnymead's first Citizen of the Year. He served for many years on the Boy Scouts' Five Nations District support committee and chaired its Eagle Scout review board. He served for 12 years on the board of directors of Parkview Hospital in Riverside and held numerous key positions with the York Rite Masonic Order. For ten years in the 1980s and 1990s, Chet and Barbara owned a local blueprint company.

Chet Gilbert was always known for his broad smile and sense of humor, and for his sense of duty and responsibility. He was the kind of disciplined, well-rounded individual of which the Academy can be proud.

Friend Dick Heil

TAPS JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2004

Personal Eulogy