Sergeant Westphall was a medic with the Medical Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while tending his wounded comrades in North Korea on 1 December 1950. He died of malnutrition at Prisoner of War at Camp #5 Hospital, Pyoktong, North Korea, on 10 June 1951. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Westphall was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Medical Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.