Meeting the man from Mitchell

The press release from Congressman Broun’s office was intriguing: World War II veteran to receive medals.

That was how I met Marion Snider of Mitchell, Ga.

I didn’t get Mr. Snider’s age, but when you are a World War II vet these days, you are pretty much already in the overtime period of life.

My first impression of Mr. Snider was entirely positive. He looked good in a suit and tie, and his bride of 10 years looked good too. Mr. Snider laughed when I joked, “Took you a while to work up the courage to ask her to marry you, huh?”

Of course, she is his second bride, and I never did hear the story of their courtship. The medal ceremony interrupted the story.

I’ve never been to Mitchell, but I’ve been to Gibson. Which is on the way to nowhere.

“Mitchell is a suburb of Gibson,” quipped Mr. Snider.

He told me his story of service in World War II. It was not a story of great heroism. But it was a story of sacrifice, nonetheless.

He was assigned to the mechanized cavalry in the U.S. Army. Trucks. His was a vital job of keeping the lifeline flowing to the men on the front.

He eventually was stationed in the Philippines, on the New Guinea side, so he never crossed paths with another hero, Cobern Kelley, a mate on the USS Narwhal, a submarine that ferried people and supplies from Australia to the Philippines and back. Kelley was later the physical director at the Athens YMCA.

Mr. Snider’s truck company was preparing for the invasion of Japan when he heard about the atomic bomb.

“We knew then that the war was over,” he said.

Soon, he was on a ship to San Francisco, stacked in bunks below decks. He ate one meal a day and relieved himself off the deck. Some times reporters learn too much information.

He arrived back in San Francisco in the dead of night. No cheering crowds. He did get a steak dinner.

“It was good,” he said.

He went into trucking for a while before going to work for the Veterans Affairs. But he had always wanted to be a rural mail carrier, and he made the right connection to deliver mail in Mitchell. It doesn’t get more rural than that.

By the time he retired, he had 42 years of service with Uncle Sam, and he had raised a family. There are now grandchildren and even great grandchildren.

The medal presentation was necessitated because he misplaced the original issues. That was where Congressman Broun stepped in. For the record, Mr. Snider received the Good Conduct Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, World War II Victory Medal, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, Honorable Service Lapel Button for WWII and Marksman Badge w/ Rifle Bar. 

But he also received a little moment in the sun. The respect that fellow serviceman Congressman Broun expressed to Mr. Snider for his service was heartfelt.

There is certainly more to the story of Marion Snider, but just to hear a slice of his life was a treat.

Thank you, Mr. Snider.