James David West
Webmaster www.IndianaMilitary.org
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Co B/2 BN/138 Armor Div
Columbus, Indiana

Company C, 151st Mechanized Infantry
Martinsville, Indiana

Sgt 1963-1967

930th TAG, 434th TAW
Bakalar AFB, Columbus, Indiana.

71st Special Operations Squadron.
Lockbourne AFB, Columbus, Ohio.

840th Combat Support Wing
Lockbourne AFB, Columbus, Ohio.

TSgt 1967-1968
MSgt 1968-1969

September 30, 2004 Recipient of the
Order of the Golden Lions - Officer Class
106th Infantry Division Association.
Only the 14th such medal awarded in 57 years of existence.

 

Among the first recipients of the Award, was the Actor, Joe E. Brown.

Hear the presentation here
(a few minutes to download)

Officer Class
Order Of The Golden Lion
James D. West
CITATION: Served the 106th Infantry Division Association as historian and exhibitor

As an Associate Member, in the last decade he has shown dedicated support for the 106th Infantry Division.  He was instrumental in establishing the WWII Museum at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, and installing a section devoted to the 106th.

Vast amounts of Division History have been made available to the public through the World Wide Website established by him.

He participates in all Camp Atterbury ceremonies when honor is given to the 106th Infantry Division.

In special recognition of his loyal services to the Association, The Board of Directors of the 106th Infantry Division Association awards him

ORDER OF THE GOLDEN LION
OFFICER CLASS (OOGL)

Done at the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this 4th day of September in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Four.

Attested: Marion Ray, Adjutant
For the Board of Directors: John M. Roberts, President

The Camp Atterbury Veterans' Memorial Association Recognizes
Mr. James D. West
For His Hard Work And Dedication.
You Have Successfully Created The Camp Atterbury E-Crier For The
Betterment Of The Association.
Your Service To the Association Has Proven To go Above And Beyond
All Expectations

COL Michael P. McGowen
Chairman Of The Board
2000

December 2004

Lifetime Member
31st Infantry Division Association

To
James D. West

With Sincere Gratitude For
The Services You Have
Performed On Behalf Of
The 106th Infantry Division
Association

Presented at the 63rd Annual Reunion
By
The Veterans of the Golden Lion Division

Harry Martin, Jr.
President

Murray Stein

Adjutant

Elder in the Southeastern Cherokee Council of Georgia.
www.secci.com  Native name - Jam Sa' Go-Le-Ga'

Mother - Dora Lewellen West (Welsh)
Father - Charles Edward West (Full Blood Cherokee)
Married Sharon Romine of Elizabethtown, Indiana
Father of Christopher & Christine West
Grandfather of Elizabeth & Victoria West
Great Grandfather of (to be announced)

Webmaster honored for efforts to preserve Indiana's military history

BY AMY MAY
ATTERBURY CRIER STAFF WRITER

Shelby County man combines the formality of traditional ceremonies that usually honor World War II veterans with the flash and speed of the Internet on his Web site, www.indianamilitary.org.

Jim West is the author of the virtual memorial, which he began about 10 years ago to honor veterans and make sure Indiana's military past is preserved. The site contains personal stories of West's military service as a member of Company C, 151st Mechanized Infantry training at Camp Atterbury and Active Duty at Bakalar and Lockbourne Air Force bases, in the 71st Special Operations Squadron.

He posts old restored photos, writings and memories from people who served at Camp Atterbury and Wakeman Hospital, near Edinburgh; Atterbury Air Field and Bakalar Air Force Base in Columbus; and Freeman Army Air Field in Seymour.

Visitors can also look up veterans' reunion times and locations, shop for books about military history and check out early headlines from the Camp Crier, the forerunner to The Atterbury Crier.

In addition to the past, the site is recording events happening today. The Timeline section gleans information from local and national media with an emphasis on Indiana military activities from 1938 to the present.

"I like military history and I trained at Camp Atterbury," West said.  Apparently, other people have similar interests. The site's view counter has logged 1.4 million visitors.

"Supposedly, it's one of the largest sites. It's more than 33 gigabytes. They're usually about 10 megabytes," West said.

One gigabyte is enough storage space to hold up to 1,000 high-resolution photographs, a thousand 200-page novels or 18 hours of digital audio music, according to IBM.

The site outgrew West's computer systems in July and crashed. It is now hosted by the Indiana Army National Guard, which has a lot more storage space.

The 106th Infantry has also noticed West's site, as well as his other efforts to preserve the history of Indiana's military facilities and the memories of the people who served at them.

He was presented with the Order of the Golden Lions Officer Class at Camp Atterbury on Sept. 30. He is only the 14th person to receive the award in 57 years.

The Golden Lions, the nickname for the 106th, trained at Camp Atterbury in 1943. In December 1944, the unit was stationed on the German-Belgian boundary just five days before the infamous Battle of the Bulge. The unit is credited with holding off the German invasion until the Allies could regroup.

The Golden Lions lost nearly 700 soldiers in the battle and almost 7,000 were taken prisoner. The 106th was disbanded in 1945.

Phil Cox of Indianapolis presented the medal in front of the stone memorial that honors the Golden Lions and other units that have trained at Camp Atterbury. Cox, the memorial representative with the unit, said the 106th board of directors recognized West's contribution, which also includes his work with Camp Atterbury's veterans' memorial committee to help establish the camp's museum. He also attends most memorial events at the camp, which includes an annual wreath-laying ceremony.

"Jim, of course, has put us on the map with his Web site," Cox said.  Camp Atterbury's commander, Col. Kenneth Newlin, said the Web site has also put Camp Atterbury on the map.

"The first thing a mobilized soldier does is say `Where is Camp Atterbury?' and gets on the Internet," Newlin said.

West's site, along with the camp's official site, comes up during a search and gives the history and tradition of the camp.

"It's a very valuable service," Newlin said.
(October 27, 2004 - Page 2)

November 11, 2004

Local native creates vet Web site
By Marla Miller, Columbus, IN Republic

Bartholomew County native James West has spent 10 years developing a virtual memorial to preserve south central Indiana’s military history and honor soldiers who trained and served in the region.

He’s the webmaster of www.indianamilitary.org, which is hosted by the Military Department of Indiana and the Indiana Army National Guard. At 1.5 gigabytes, it is one of the largest, private, noncommercial Web sites in the state.

His efforts were recognized by The Golden Lions, the nickname for the 106th Infantry Division that trained at Camp Atterbury in 1943 and later fought in the Battle of the Bulge. The group presented him with the Order of the Golden Lions Officer Class. He is only the 14th person to receive the award in 57 years.

West started the Web site after he retired. The site contains personal stories of West’s military service as a member of the 151st Mechanized Infantry serving in Korea and at Bakalar and Lockbourne Air Force bases.

He’s also posted old restored photos and memoirs from soldiers who served at Camp Atterbury and Wakeman Hospital, near Edinburgh; Atterbury Air Field and Bakalar Air Force Base in Columbus; and Freeman Army Air Field in Seymour.

Users also can look up veterans’ reunion dates and locations, peruse headlines from the Camp Crier, the predecessor to the Atterbury Crier, and stay abreast of current events. The timeline section records information from local and national media, focusing on Indiana military activities from 1938 to the present.

More than 1.4 million people have visited the site. West is vigilant about keeping the site accurate and up-to-date.

“I spend a couple of hours every morning when I get up,” he said. “It’s a full-time job. I update it almost daily, every time I find something new.”

Related Links:
Indiana Military Home Page

The Republic
Columbus, Indiana
November 14, 2004

November 11, 2004

Local native creates vet Web site
By Marla Miller, Columbus, IN Republic

Bartholomew County native James West has spent 10 years developing a virtual memorial to preserve south central Indiana’s military history and honor soldiers who trained and served in the region.

He’s the webmaster of www.indianamilitary.org, which is hosted by the Military Department of Indiana and the Indiana Army National Guard. At 1.5 gigabytes, it is one of the largest, private, noncommercial Web sites in the state.

His efforts were recognized by The Golden Lions, the nickname for the 106th Infantry Division that trained at Camp Atterbury in 1943 and later fought in the Battle of the Bulge. The group presented him with the Order of the Golden Lions Officer Class. He is only the 14th person to receive the award in 57 years.

West started the Web site after he retired. The site contains personal stories of West’s military service as a member of the 151st Mechanized Infantry serving in Korea and at Bakalar and Lockbourne Air Force bases.

He’s also posted old restored photos and memoirs from soldiers who served at Camp Atterbury and Wakeman Hospital, near Edinburgh; Atterbury Air Field and Bakalar Air Force Base in Columbus; and Freeman Army Air Field in Seymour.

Users also can look up veterans’ reunion dates and locations, peruse headlines from the Camp Crier, the predecessor to the Atterbury Crier, and stay abreast of current events. The timeline section records information from local and national media, focusing on Indiana military activities from 1938 to the present.

More than 1.4 million people have visited the site. West is vigilant about keeping the site accurate and up-to-date.

“I spend a couple of hours every morning when I get up,” he said. “It’s a full-time job. I update it almost daily, every time I find something new.”

Related Links:
Indiana Military Home Page

West's 147-year-old log home just keeps changing each year

Jim and Sharon West bought their log home, above, in 1971 and have been adding on to the structure ever since, including the double veranda and the wing at left.

"We're the first house on the right after you pass through Bengal," James D. West directed.

Sure enough, after passing the little white Bengal Christian Church on the left, and driving a little while, eventually the first house on the right comes into view... and what a house.

"It's a good thing you came during the winter," West said. " You can't see it in the summer for the trees." It took some time for those trees to grow up enough to suit West. When he and his wife, Sharon, first bought the house in 1971, it was a rather unassuming old two-story, covered with asbestos siding but still looking rather naked, with no trees around.

Now a stately two- story log house "not a cabin, West points out" complete with towering stone chimney stands there, surrounded by evergreens and fruit trees. The chimney alone took a year to build out of what West calls "Waldron rubble."

The original 16 by 35 foot, two room 1859 home has undergone constant transformation in its 146-year history. The first was in 1896, when it was actually moved a short distance and " modernized" by adding gables and siding.

Back in 1976, when the West's had owned the home for only five years, it was featured in an article in The Shelbyville News in which the West's said that what they called their "de-modeling" process would continue as long as they owned the house. Sharon West said then, "It will never be done," and she is still saying that today.

But it's a process they seem to enjoy. Besides the things they took away like the siding outside and the plaster ceilings inside, to expose the original logs , porches were added, upstairs and down, rooms sprouted out the side and back.

And with every new room, Jim added another arched doorway  deep arches decorated in unique ways. "I like arches," he said. One is a mosaic of a fountain of water, made from those little glass wafers you see in crystal vases. "I just saw a bunch of them in the store one day and figured I could make something out of them," West said. Another arch is tiled in small squares, with larger tiles depicting angels.

The original outside doorway went clear to the ceiling. West tells the story that the owners at the time opened it up because Abraham Lincoln was to pay a visit to Indianapolis, and they hoped he would stop at their home as he passed, in which case they wanted to be sure their doorway would accommodate that tall, stovepipe hat he wore.

Since then, West has brought that doorway down to size by adding some nice woodwork, not exactly an arch this time, but an inverted vee instead.

The West's originally planned to use only antiques in their historic home. After awhile, though, practicality and comfort prevailed, and a nice mix of old and new furnishings, including a giant-screen television, provide a cozy place to visit for their two granddaughters, Victoria and Elizabeth.

That's not to say there are not some interesting pieces left. A beautifully restored antique stove sits in the dining room. West was able to retain quite a few of his mother's things. But the piece he's proudest of is a hand- hewn cabinet that stands in the hallway, made by his grandfather.

"There's only five pieces of metal in it," he said, "the four hinges and the screw that holds the wooden latch in place. The rest is held together with pegs."

West*s grandfather had 17 children from two marriages, and he set out to make each of his children a violin. He was able to complete 11, but West has one of them and is getting another from one of his aunts who had no children of her own.

West's father was a full-blooded Cherokee. West himself is an elder in the Southeastern Cherokee Council at Valdosta, Ga.

His native name, given him by the Council, is "Go-le-Ga" or "He Knows." His son Chris' name is "U-Wo-Du" or the "Good Son" and daughter Christine (who now prefers Cris) is "Tawo-Kana-Ge-Da" or "She Speaks Songs."

Granddaughters Elizabeth and Victoria are, respectively, "Wa-Le-La" or "Little Butterfly" and "Ka-Ma-Ma" or "Little Hummingbird."


 

 At right, the West children, Christine and Christopher, pictured in 1976, continue to be interested in their heritage.
 

Shelbyville, Indiana Monday, March 21, 2005
By JUDY C. SPRENGELMEYER
Staff writer

U.S. Army Litter Carrier

 This 1951 473 Station Wagon formerly owned by Jim West is perhaps the only one left of a fleet bought by the government and outfitted as "litter carriers," a pretty dry generic term for ambulances. Jim says, "I understand the Army bought 1,000 civilian models of the Willys-Overland Station Wagon and converted them to military use as a test.

"Mine served during the Korean War, hauling flown-in wounded from Atterbury Air Force Base, Columbus, Indiana to the U. S. Army Hospital at Camp Atterbury, Edinburgh, Indiana. A distance of about 25 miles."

 See also a close view of the lettering on the side applied by Jim. He comments, "The logo for Camp Atterbury is accurate. But although the Jeep served during the Korean War, I choose to add 'Wakeman General Hospital' as the hospital was named during WW2. I added the 388th unit, because I have a lot of information on that unit. It was a Korean War outfit at Camp Atterbury, So it is very possible they drove it or at least saw it."

 

U.S. Military Wheeled Vehicles by Fred Crismon has a photo showing the rear and interior (80K JPEG) of one of these litter carriers, identifying it as having been taken during testing at Ft. Knox, Indiana in 1951.

Shelbyville News
03/22/2006

BENGAL — The Web site, www.IndianaMilitary.org, has been in existence for more than 10 years. It is the largest private Web site in Indiana and is approaching five gigabits in size. This is approximately 2,500,000 times the size of an ordinary Web site.

The entire site, cost-prohibitive for any person to sponsor on his own, is graciously hosted and supported by the Indiana Army National Guard and resides on their servers at Stout Field. Visitors to the site average 5,000 a week.

The site began as a tribute to the history of Camp Atterbury. I developed an interest in the camp while driving a tank around the hills and ranges as a sergeant in Company B, 138th Armor, Indiana Army National Guard, from 1963 to 1967.

Later, I noticed that recorded history was lacking for Atterbury Air Force Base/Bakalar Air Force Base at Columbus and Freeman Army Air Field at Seymour, so I included that information in the site, also.

The site has been recognized as the “official” Web site for historic Camp Atterbury, Freeman Field, Wakeman Hospital and the 388th Evac Hospital, among others.

The Camp Atterbury portion of the site, in addition to being the most extensive recording of the post’s history, includes large sections for the units that trained there during World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam.

These include the 28th Infantry Division (Korea), 30th ID (WW Il), 31st ID (Korea), 83rd ID (WWI1), 92nd (WWI1), 106th ID (WW II) and Company D, 151st Rangers (Vietnam).

The 106th is “famous” for its involvement in the Battle of the Bulge. Within just a few days of leaving Camp Atterbury, they were assigned to the front lines and spread over a distance five times longer than any other division.

Hitler’s final major thrust was through the lO6th’s lines. Eight thousand men were wounded, killed or captured. Thousands were sent to some of the worst prisoner-of-war camps in Germany. Ninety-nine percent of these men had been within 30 miles of Shelbyville at one time and probably visited the city on the weekly buses.

My latest project is documenting the German prisoner of war camps where men who trained at Camp Atterbury were interred. To date, more than 4,000 names of former prisoners of war are detailed on the site.

A joint project with James Jackson of Columbus lists the grave site of every veteran buried in Bartholomew County. In most cases, a photo of the headstone is included.

The site has been credited in at least four major movies in the U.S. and Canada. The latest, “Good-bye, Eddie Hart” — appeared locally on PBS, a story about an 83rd Division soldier killed in action. He also had trained at Camp Atterbury. An Italian movie director is working on a film about the 3,500 Italian POWs held at Camp Atterbury and is using the site as its historical reference.

I served as vice president of the Camp Atterbury Veterans’ Memorial Association for sev­eral years and was awarded the Order of the Golden Lion-Officer’s Class, by the 106th Division Association in cere­monies at Camp Atterbury. The award was presented by the installation commander, Col. Newlin. It was the 17th such award in 47 years of existence.

The first award of its kind was given to the actor Joe E. Brown in 1945 for his support of the division at a time when journalists were blaming the 106th for its failures, without knowing the actual facts.

England’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill said of the division, “They stood their ground, by Jove.” Eisenhower said the stand of the 106th shortened the war by one year The 31st Division Association awarded me a “Lifetime Honorary Membership.”

Through the popularity of the site, many donations have been received by the museums at Camp Atterbury and Freeman Field. Additional for­gotten and unknown facts have surfaced because someone vis­ited the site and found they knew something that was miss­ing. Recently 125 photos of German and Japanese aircraft at Freeman Field were donated to that museum after the son of the WW II base photographer discovered the site. 

Editor’s note: West encourages interested veterans and families of veterans to visit the Web site and contact him at IndianaMilitary@centurylink.net with information or questions. He retired from the military in 1969 and from the Indiana Gas Co. in Indianapolis in 1997 after 40 years as an engineer. He and his family live in a two-story log home south of Bengal in Shelby County.

Page last revised 01/21/2024
James D. West
www.IndianaMilitary.org
jimdwest@centurylink.net