Wilmington Marine dies in Thailand
Played in band while overseas
A 20-year-old Marine from Wilmington has died in Thailand on tour with the Third Marine Expeditionary Force Band, a town official and a Marine Corps spokesman said.
Lance Corporal Steven M. West had been serving in Okinawa, Japan, since Nov. 29, 2007, said First Lieutenant Judd Wilson, a Marine Corps spokesman.
As of last evening, the Marine Corps had not informed West's family how their son died, beyond saying he was not killed in combat, Wilmington Selectman Louis Cimaglia said. He said he spoke with West's family and Marine Corps officials yesterday.
West died July 2 at a hospital in Bangkok, where he was visiting as part of a goodwill tour, and the cause of death is still under investigation, Wilson said. West's family could not be reached.
West played bass for the band, Cimaglia said. "He was good; he was a talented kid," said Cimaglia, who didn't know West personally.
He joined the Marine Corps in December 2006 and was promoted to lance corporal on Jan. 1, 2008. He had been awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Medal, Wilson said.
West leaves his mother, Jacqueline (O'Hara) Rooney, and his stepfather, Dennis Rooney, of Wilmington; and his father, David West, and his stepmother, Rose, of Nashua. Cimaglia said West's body will be flown back to the United States late this evening or early tomorrow. A wake will be held Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Nichols Funeral Home in Wilmington. A funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Thursday in St. Thomas Church in Woburn.
