The spirit of 1st Lt. Kile West lives on in the memory of his family, friends and neighbors in Hutto, but a measure approved by the U.S. House of Representatives Monday could make sure his name lives on in Williamson County for a very long time.
The bill (HR 2422) sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Carter will rename the U.S. Post Office in Georgetown the “Kile G. West Post Office Building”. The bill passed the House unanimously and now must pass in the Senate and be signed into law by the President.
“This is a moment to honor the ultimate sacrifice of one of our Texas war heroes,” Carter said. “With this renaming we should not only recognize the sacrifice of Lieutenant West, but the kind of life he led as an example to all our youth in the future.”
Georgetown is just a stones throw from Hutto. I can't imagine that this won't come to pass. I look forward to reporting on the dedication, whenever that may be.
To the writer's credit, although this is a "hometown hero" piece, didn't forget about the others:
West, assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, was killed in Abu Sayda, Iraq on Memorial Day, May 28, 2007 when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. Four others also died in the attack. West had volunteered for the mission to rescue a downed helicopter pilot.
The other soldiers who died were Sgt. Anthony Ewing of Phoenix, Ariz., Cpl. Zachary Baker of Vilonia, Ark., Cpl. James Summers III of Bourbon, Mo., and Spc. Alexandre Alexeev of Wilmington, Calif.
