Westhusing (November 17, 1960 – June 5, 2005), a West Point professor of English and Philosophy, volunteered to serve in Iraq in late 2004 and died in Baghdad in June 2005 from an allegedly self-inflicted gunshot wound.
At the time he was the highest-ranked American to die violently in Iraq since the start of the March 2003 United States-led invasion.
He was 44 years old, married with three young children.