In the fall of 1950, Gilbert was in command of Company A of the 24th, having taken over when his commanding officer was wounded. He received an order to return with twelve of his men to a forward position. Gilbert's company had been forced to withdraw from that position after coming under heavy machine gun fire at close to point blank range, so to return to that position would have been tantamount to suicide. When Gilbert refused the order to return, he was arrested and tried on the spot. Despite Gilbert's suffering from shock and fatigue due to prolonged heavy fighting (according to a letter to his wife, they had gone thirteen days without food or water), he was accused of insubordination and cowardice, and a court martial sentenced him to death. In an interview with the "New York Times", Gilbert gave his version of the incident.