Zoom

Army Maj. Gen. Gregg Martin embraces Edward and Dineen Snyder, Devin’s parents, after presenting them with a folded American flag that draped her casket. / JASON WHONG Elmira Star-Gazette

Army Sgt. Devin Snyder laid to rest in Cohocton

COHOCTON — More than 1,000 people flooded Cohocton on Saturday to honor a soldier killed in action in Afghanistan.

Mourners filled the Cohocton Sports Complex, behind the Wayland-Cohocton Elementary School Cohocton Campus, for the funeral of U.S. Army Sgt. Devin A. Snyder.

Snyder, 20, a military policewoman from Cohocton, was killed June 4 in the blast of a roadside bomb near Mehter Lam in eastern Afghanistan. Snyder enlisted in 2008 and was deployed to Afghanistan in March.

As hundreds were inside the 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 gave a homily and spoke about Snyder. “Devin was pretty much an all-American girl,” he said. “She loved life. She loved her friends. She loved her country.”

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.
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.
At the cemetery, 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 be laid to rest.
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 procession entered the cemetery, flanked by people saluting and holding flags, and the honor guard pallbearers again lifted her casket from the caisson. Later, the 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. 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 loved with her whole heart.
“I’m going to miss her a lot.”

JWHONG

Fallen soldier’s body returned View Thumbs

Rest in Peace

Be Not Afraid

You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst. You shall wander far in safety though you do not know the way. You shall speak your words in foreign lands and all will understand. You shall see the face of God and live.

Be not afraid.
I go before you always;
Come follow me, and I will give you rest.

Supporters offer shield at service in case of protest

Zoom

Patriot Guard Riders are joined by others with American flags on Loon Lake Road, which overlooks Zion Lutheran Cemetery on Saturday. / JASON WHONG Elmira Star-Gazette

COHOCTON — Flags were raised high as the Patriot Guard Riders took their places in front of their motorcycles to shield U.S. Army Sgt. Devin Snyder’s funeral from threatened protests on Saturday.

Rumored sightings of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., turned out to be false, Lt. Rick Oyer of the State Police confirmed.

The church group, which believes the deaths of U.S. troops are God’s punishment for America’s acceptance of homosexuality, had stated on its website it would picket the funeral. Snyder’s family requested the presence of the Patriot Guard Riders at the funeral to be a shield against the church’s threatened protest.

The motorcycle group’s mission is “standing for those who stood for us.”

“It’s important for us to shield the family from any nonsense,” said Mark Plyter, 46, of Williamson, Wayne County. “If it were my child, it’d mean everything in the world to not have their funeral desecrated. They deserve, at the minimum, that for giving their life for us.”

Forrest Rossel said he believes the sight of the hundreds of Patriot Guard Riders may have been enough to deter protesters.

“The size of us and the number of us sometimes will prevent them from showing up,” said Rossel, 46, of Conesus, Livingston County. “All of us here and all of us (on the street by the cemetery) could have prevented them from coming.”

In addition to the cyclists lined up outside the Cohocton Sports Complex, another flag line with an estimated 500 more riders was formed around the perimeter of the cemetery.

This past week, more than 300 people signed up to stand in opposition to the protesters.

Many people said it was important to show their respect by holding flags and standing with the riders Saturday.

“We had a family friend who was killed last year, and the Patriot Guard was at the funeral,” said Sean Gaffney, 44, of Hornell, Steuben County, who was at the funeral with his wife. “It was important for us to come support (Devin) today.”

Other motorcycle groups of veterans, law enforcement officials and firefighters came to join the flag line as well, including Hostile Horde MC, Renegade Pigs MC and American Legion Riders.

“In our group, we believe that she should be buried in peace, and we’re totally against what the (protesters) are doing,” said David Cline, 42, of Corning, and a member of Northern Riders MC.

“I couldn’t be more proud to stick up for someone who served for our country and died for us,” said Cline. “She’s the reason why we all have freedom.”

Kim Price is a correspondent for the Elmira Star-Gazette.