First Lieutenant West was the pilot of a F-80C Shooting Star fighter interceptor with the 7th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter Bomber Group. On 25 April 1951, while on a combat mission, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, crashed and exploded. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

West was awarded the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, 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.