Togo A. West, Jr., a former secretary of the Army and secretary of veterans affairs, died of a heart attack on a cruise ship sailing between Barbados and Puerto Rico March 8. He was 75.

Born in Winston-Salem, N.C., West graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., with a bachelor’s degree in engineering, and a Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from its law school finishing first in his class.

He served in the U.S. Army as a field artillery officer from 1965 to 1968, and in the Army Judge Advocate General Corps from 1969 to 1973.

He held a variety of positions in the Department of Defense during the Carter administration to include: general counsel of the Navy; special assistant to the secretary and deputy secretary of defense; and general counsel of the Department of Defense.

He served as secretary of the Army in the Clinton administration from 1993 to 1998, and as the third secretary of veterans affairs from 1998 to 2000.