Rank: Sergeant First Class
Unit: G Troop, 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
MOS: 11D – Armor Reconnaissance Specialist
Awards: Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Badges: Combat Infantryman Badge
Unit awards: Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device
Enlisted by: Regular
Date of birth: 5-Jul-1940
Hometown: Duncan, Oklahoma
Marital status: Married to Amelia E. West, one son
Campaign: Vietnam Conflict
Entered service: 25-Jan-1960
Start of tour: 27-Apr-1969
Incident date: 4-Jul-1969
Date of casualty: 4-Jul-1969
Age at death: 28
Cause of death: Hostile, died. Grenade. Multiple fragmentation wounds.
Jimmy Don West was killed while commander of a military vehicle on a combat operation when a hostile force was encountered. / Track commander on Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle (ACAV) on combat operation. Engaged hostile force in firefight.
Three Blackhorse troopers died in this incident:
SP4 Ambrose Gassaway
SP4 Raymond Lee Pirrman
SFC Jimmy Don West
Location of fatality: Binh Long, South Vietnam, XU 633 101
Place of interment: Henderson-Harris Cemetery, Duncan, Oklahoma, USA
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