In Christ Alone

Army Spc. Devin A. Snyder

 

U.S. Army Spec. Devin Snyder of Cohocton, a military po­licewoman, died Sat­urday an explo­sion near Mehter Lam Afganistan in the east­ern part of the country. A 20-year-old sol­di­er from Steuben County who becom­e the first female from the western NY region to die in the war.

The blast also killed three oth­er U.S. sol­diers riding in a vehicle with her. The De­part­ment of Defense confirmed today that Snyder; Sgt. Christo­pher R. Bell, 21, of Gold­en, Miss.; Sgt. Joshua D. Pow­ell, 28, of Quitman, Texas; and Pfc. Robert L. Voakes Jr., 21, of L'Anse, Mich. were killed in Laghman province when in­surgents attacked their unit with an impro­vised explosive device.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo today di­rected flags on state govern­ment fa­cilities to be flown at half-staff. Specialist Snyder's par­ents, Di­neen and Edward Snyder, were at Dover (Del.) Air Force Base on Monday to meet her body as it arrived at the base's pro­cess­ing center.

Edward Snyder, a for­mer mayor of Cohocton, said he talked with his daugh­ter on Facebook the morning that she was killed."She was very proud to serve our country. She was always a team player and she always put oth­er people before her­self." Her hope, he said, was to carry over her military expe­ri­ence into a ca­reer in law enforce­ment. "She was a military po­lice officer and she wanted a ca­reer and to have a fam­ily right along with it."

Snyder was stationed in Alaska, and was on her first deploy­ment.The fam­ily has a tra­dition of ser­vice. Her broth­er Damien is in the Army; her sis­ter, Natasha, is in the Navy; and her fa­ther is a Navy vet­eran. "It's been tough on all of us," said her step-grandfa­ther, Clair Fairbroth­er. "A re­al shock."In Albany, State Sen. Tom O'Mara, R-Big Flats, issued a state­ment ex­press­ing "endur­ing grat­i­tude and respect" for Specialist Snyders service to our country.

Hundreds gathered inside a stadium for the first part of Snyder’s funeral, hundreds more were outside, honoring her by hoisting American flags and shielding the family from a protest that never materialized. Snyder would have been reluctant to accept praise for her sacrifice, her mother, Dineen Snyder, said after the funeral. “Devin was humble. She didn’t look for recognition for anything that she did,” Dineen Snyder said. “She’s probably up there thinking that we’re making a big deal out of nothing.” If her daughter had a second chance, she would have done it all over again, Dineen Snyder said. Both of Devin Snyder’s parents said she was focused, dedicated and an achiever. “She was genuine. She had a heart of gold,” said her father, Edward Snyder. “Since the day she could walk, she ran.”

During the funeral, the procession entered the stadium under a large American flag hung from the ladders of two fire trucks. Snyder’s casket, draped in an American flag, was carried on a horse-drawn caisson with an Army honor guard. Bagpipers and drummers played. Pallbearers from the honor guard lifted her casket and carried it to a platform for the service. They also took the flag from her casket, raised it, then lowered it to half-staff where it remained during the service.

The Rev. David Bernard spoke about Snyder. “Devin was pretty much an all-American girl,” he said. “She loved life. She loved her friends. She loved her country. “I suspect if she had her way, everyone here would be wearing pink with polka dots.”

Army Maj. Gen. Gregg Martin said he felt personally connected with Snyder because he was her commanding general at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.“Like thousands of other young American soldiers, Devin willingly put her boots on the ground in order to protect our nation and enable others to live better lives,” Martin said. Snyder enlisted in 2008 and was deployed to Afghanistan in March.

After the ceremony, the procession took a course of about a mile from the stadium to Zion Lutheran Cemetery. Hundreds walked behind the caisson on Erie Street, which was flanked by people holding American flags. The procession crossed the Conhocton River on Maple Avenue, then turned south onto South Dansville Street toward the cemetery, where at least 100 people were waiting to salute. Hundreds more carrying American flags stood on roads high above the cemetery, forming a belt of red, white and blue around the place where Snyder would finally be laid to rest. “That was phenomenal,” Edward Snyder said of the sight of hundreds of flags on the heights. “I’ve never seen, I never want to see anything like that ever again, but it was excellent.” On Loon Lake Road, which looks down on the cemetery, the Patriot Guard Riders stood quietly as a faint drummers’ cadence signaled that the procession was arriving. The sounds of soft sniffling filled the time between drumbeats. The procession entered the cemetery, flanked by people saluting and holding flags, and the honor guard pallbearers again lifted her casket from the caisson. Later, pallbearers solemnly removed the flag draped over her casket, folded it into a triangle and gave it to another honor guard member, who gave the flag to Martin. Martin approached the Snyders, got on one knee and presented the flag to Dineen Snyder. "On behalf of the President of the United States, the Department of the Air Force, and a grateful nation, we offer this flag for the faithful and dedicated service of Spc. Devin Snyder. This is what is said when the folded flag that drapes the casket is handed off to the next of kin. Then he embraced both parents as Dineen Snyder wept.

After the funeral, Dineen Snyder said the Army was Devin Snyder’s love. “She gave 110 percent,” Dineen Snyder said. “She was somebody who never quit. Never. “She always wanted bigger, better, and to do much more than she was already doing. I don’t know how it’s possible, but that’s how she was,” she said. “She loved with her whole heart.


Above is a picture of Spc. Snyders body being
carried off the plane when it arrived at Dover AFB

I know the likelyhood of anyone who knew Spc. Snyder reading this is slim to none but I want to leave them with some words that have comforted me over the years.

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand