More detail on this person: Gary Lynn West Sr, 67 Vietnam veteran Gary West dies at 67 Marietta Daily Journal (GA) - Saturday, July 3, 2004 POWDER SPRINGS -- Gary West was one of the lucky men who managed to come home alive after flying military helicopters during three tours of duty in the Vietnam War. His helicopter was shot with a direct hit, and the plane went down, leaving his family back home in limbo. "In 1970 I remember getting a phone call one night," said his son, James West of Colorado Springs, Colo., who was just a little boy at the time. James West said the only thing the Army told his family was that his father's plane had gone down. "Those were the toughest days waiting for word of whether he was alive or dead," he said. "We had so many friends losing their dads over there." His father escaped the accident but was left with shrapnel in his legs. Although he watched many men die in Vietnam, West never complained about his service, his son said. "He was proud to be a helicopter pilot, and he was proud of the job he did in Vietnam," said his wife, Elizabeth Ann West. "He told me 'I will not tell you of the horrors I witnessed,'" she said. Gary Lynn "Skip" West Sr., 67, of Powder Springs died Wednesday at Cobb WellStar Hospital of complication from a heart attack. Services will be 11 a.m. today at West Cobb Funeral Home in Marietta. In 1974, West was appointed by the governor of Alaska to be the director of the "Spirit of 76," a 260-member chorus consisting of military personnel and civilians. West helped assemble the 1976 bicentennial year chorus, which traveled around the state performing in red, white and blue uniforms. "He had the most beautiful voice you could ever imagine," Ms. West said. After retiring from the Army in 1977, West left Alaska and moved back to his native Kansas. He stayed there for a year before moving back to Alaska where he sold cars. "He sold me a Ford Bronco in 1978, and we were married three month later," Ms. West said. The couple decided to move to Georgia in 1982 after Ms. West told her husband she wanted him to take her to a place where there were lots of trees and friendly people. West had been to Georgia several times while serving in the military and decided to move his family to Cobb County. He work in the auto industry continued after moving to Georgia. Dave Taylor, general manager at John Thornton Chevrolet in Lithia Springs, hired West to be the finance and insurance manager at the dealership. "His ability to get along with people made him good at what he did," said Taylor. "Skip was one of those people you meet and you automatically liked him." Other survivors include three sons, Johnny Lee Manson of Fort Worth, Texas, William Dale Manson of Marietta and Gary Lynn West Jr. of Marietta; four daughters, Cynthia Lynn Chorney of Sarasota, Fla., Nancy Lariese West of Biddeford, Maine, Janeen Renee Cerrito of Euharlee, GA.; 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Burial information: Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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