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Bill C. West
| Bill C. West | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1917 |
| Died | 2007 |
| Nativity | United States |
| Religion | Protestant |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Arm / service | Air Corps |
| ASN | 0583608 |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 24 (26 October – 29 December 1944) |
| Section | 4A |
| Specialty | Counter Intelligence Corps |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Bill C. West (1917–2007) was an American Ritchie Boy (Class 24) trained in counterintelligence at Camp Ritchie who later served in Army CIC and the CIA.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Bill C. West was born in 1917. Because of his French and German language skills, he was sent to the Counter Intelligence Corps school at Camp Ritchie, Maryland (Class 24), where he was first exposed to Soviet studies through instructors who included defectors.
West later worked for Army Counter Intelligence during World War II and the Korean War period and for the Central Intelligence Agency from 1955 until his retirement in 1977, including work connected with Soviet literature and clandestine distribution of samizdat. A 1984 profile described him as a scholar of Soviet literature and politics living in Reston, Virginia.
West died in 2007.
Research notes[edit | edit source]
No notes were in the source row. Add what you know.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
-
Idaho Times-News / Washington Post profile of Bill West (CIC, Camp Ritchie, CIA) (RB Archive). -
The Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho), 20 December 1984, Bill West profile (RB Archive).
Technical record[edit | edit source]
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 90 |
| Class_ASN | 583608 |
| Class_Name | WEST, Bill C. |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Timeline[edit | edit source]
- 1917 — Born.
- Camp Ritchie Class 24 — CIC / counterintelligence training (French and German).
- WWII / Korea era — Army Counter Intelligence Corps work.
- 1955–1977 — Central Intelligence Agency.
- 1984 — Profiled in The Times-News (Idaho) / Washington Post feature on Soviet literature work.
- 2007 — Died.
Sources[edit | edit source]
- David Remnick, profile of Bill West (Soviet literature / CIC / CIA), The Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho), 20 December 1984 (PDF; via Washington Post).
- Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
- Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
- NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
- 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)