Basic Snyder

MK comments: No, Snyder was not from Kentucky. He was from Birdsboro, Pennsylvania. You may be hearing My Old Kentucky Home only because I am sure that all of these photos (emailed to me by Dudley Snyder, the nephew and namesake of "my" Snyder) were taken at Fort Breckenridge, Kentucky. That's where both Snyder and I (not at the exact same times, though we may have overlapped) had twelve weeks of basic training by the 101st Airborne Division. No, neither of us ever wore a parachute which was okay because neither of us ever had to jump from an airplane. The 101, in 1951, was acting only as a basic training division.

I'm sure about the where of these photos because of: the well-remembered buildings depicted; the name patches on the helmet liners; the presence of a bazooka which wasn't standard issue to us in Korea; and, most of all, the presence of a Screaming Eagle Patch.

Here are views of Snyder in the vanguard of a work detail, patiently awaiting his reward for a job well done, and heartily enjoying that reward. His proficiency at all would be well known to me later, in Korea.

On the left, he's manning a Bazooka, of which none were issued to us of the 4th Squad of A/15 while Snyder and I were in it - the reason: there were no enemy tanks to shoot at. On the right, he is in a familiar poncho, but the name tag on his helmet liner gives away that he was still  at Fort Breckenridge, Kentucky.

The "Screaming Eagle" shoulder patch (the 101st Airborne insignia) worn in 1951 by this soldier gives away his presence at Fort Breckenridge, Kentucky. Can better eyes than mine tell me if this photo is also of Snyder? I guess it is. MK.

3rd Division Page      IBB Map and Photo Index
Snyder and ?      Snyder at Work and Church
Index to Snyder's Pages
"Can Do" Photo Index