Lieutenant Commander Richard C. West, USN, Ret.

Lieutenant Commander Richard C. West, USN (Ret), was born in Hobart, Oklahoma, to James J, Jr. and Edith C. West, both school teachers. After numerous moves, his family settled in Ponca City Oklahoma, where he attended Attucks High School. He participated in numerous sports, community services and joined the Army Reserves on his eighteenth birthday in 1949.

LCDR West applied to and was accepted into Wichita University (PREMED). During his first semester, his Reserve Unit was mobilized in support of the Korean Crisis. Segregation was still prominent at the time, and Richard endured disparate treatment as the lone minority serving in an all white Unit. Despite facing unimaginable obstacles, he received the Oklahoma Reserve Outstanding Soldier Award in June 1950. After he refused a Regular Army Commission, Richard reported to Korea, where he participated in the search for the downed aircraft flown by Distinguished Flying Cross recipient ENS Jessie Brown, the first African-American aviator to complete the United States Navy's basic flight training program. Richard remained in Korea, until President Truman issued an Executive Order prohibiting Reservists from serving in combat operations, and was sent to Camp Roberts, California, where he served as a combat experienced instructor until he was released from Active Duty in 1953.

LCDR West resumed his pursuit of higher education by enrolling at the University of Oklahoma, as the first known African American Undergraduate majoring in Pharmacy. He used the GI Bill to take flight lessons.

In January 1955, LCDR West transitioned into the Navy after taking and passing the Naval Cadet test. He then entered flight training in Pensacola, Florida. While training in Pensacola, he was fortunate to run into trailblazers in Naval Aviation: LT Frank Peterson, Lester Long, Bill Deshazer, and Lloyd Roberts. In August 1956, Richard earned his coveted Wings of Gold in Corpus Christi, Texas, becoming the fifth African American to be designated a Naval Aviator. A loner by circumstance, he caught the attention of ADM Gravely, who assumed the role of Richard’s Mentor.

Throughout his distinguished career, LCDR West flew eleven different types of aircraft, deploying to numerous theaters of operation around the globe. During one flight out of the Florida Keys while patrolling Russian vessels entering Cuba in August 1962, Richard’s aircraft was fired upon by hostile forces, one of the headliner news events preceding the Cuban Missile Crisis.

LCDR West joined the Naval Academy Navy Recruitment Blue and Gold program in May 1971 and worked for ADM Zumwalt in the Pentagon in Washington DC. In July 1971, he was asked to participate in an effort that ultimately established the National Naval Officers Association (NNOA) in 1972. He was recognized for his contributions as a Founding Member of NNOA at their Annual Symposium in San Diego in August 2023.

Following his retirement from Naval Service in 1974, LCDR West remained actively engaged supporting communities across the country: Associate Pastor, New Hope Baptist Church; State and District Chaplain with the American Legion; Southern California Chaplain AMVETS; Supervisory Deputy, United States Marshal, Southern District of California; United States Navy Memorial; Midway Museum; Executive Lions Club; Fleet Reserves; Disabled American Veterans; Masonic Groups; National Association of Federal Employees; and the San Diego Chapter of the National Naval Officers Association. Lieutenant Commander Richard West is survived by his wife, Pacita West; his daughter Carolyn West; and his daughter Martha D Teate.

A viewing for Lieutenant Commander West will be held Thursday, March 14, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at New Hope Friendship Baptist Church, 2205 Harrison Ave., San Diego, CA 92113, followed by a celebration of Life Service from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM.

Lieutenant Commander West will be laid to rest in Miramar National Cemetery, San Diego, CA.