VIETNAM - WEST, JIMMY DON

West, Jimmy Don

VIETNAM - WEST, JIMMY DON
WEST, JIMMY DON

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

View this soldier‘s Find a Grave page (opens in a new window)

Vietnam Veterans Memorial panel and row: 21W 064 (view Vietnam Veterans Memorial link in a new window)