CHRISTOPHER H. SNYDER, LT, USN
Christopher Snyder '00
Lucky Bag
From the 2000 Lucky Bag:
Chris Snyder
Plainsboro, New Jersey
SNIDES! How far we've come from the youngster year room. Danny we really don't belong here! Have I ever told you about Jersey (Zion)? Siberia… For Spring Break? Known by name by Jersey Turnpike tollbooth collectors. You can't name the Beatles? Everybody knows that! John we're not going home tonight! Don't touch TIEF. Princeton cadences. Do you even know the words to that song? Who cares when you're doing the four point. John get out of the room I'm busy! Always two sides to every story, the real way, and the way Snides told it, though your version was always more interesting. You're going to Italy with him? Mikey welcome to the family, you're gonna love it here. Halloween, Greenwich Village '99, Snides you have a girlfriend, you don't need me. When you come back to Irkutsk? JD, is Snides cool about everything? Fells Point, Halloween- Snides is not in Kansas anymore. Snides are you sure you can take all those guys? Fights you didn't know you started. "Hey kid, try to stand up now." I will miss you longtime? The JP has now been promoted, but trim those sideburns. -DC, AT, JM, WK
Chris Snyder
Plainsboro, New Jersey
SNIDES! How far we've come from the youngster year room. Danny we really don't belong here! Have I ever told you about Jersey (Zion)? Siberia… For Spring Break? Known by name by Jersey Turnpike tollbooth collectors. You can't name the Beatles? Everybody knows that! John we're not going home tonight! Don't touch TIEF. Princeton cadences. Do you even know the words to that song? Who cares when you're doing the four point. John get out of the room I'm busy! Always two sides to every story, the real way, and the way Snides told it, though your version was always more interesting. You're going to Italy with him? Mikey welcome to the family, you're gonna love it here. Halloween, Greenwich Village '99, Snides you have a girlfriend, you don't need me. When you come back to Irkutsk? JD, is Snides cool about everything? Fells Point, Halloween- Snides is not in Kansas anymore. Snides are you sure you can take all those guys? Fights you didn't know you started. "Hey kid, try to stand up now." I will miss you longtime? The JP has now been promoted, but trim those sideburns. -DC, AT, JM, WK
Loss
Chris was lost on December 13, 2005 when the helicopter he was piloting crashed near USS DeWert (FFG 45), which was off the coast of Columbia in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
From The Star-Democrat on December 14, 2005:
The SH-60B helicopter was within visual range of the frigate USS DeWert when it went down in the eastern Pacific, said Bill Austin, a spokesman for the U.S. Naval Station at Mayport, Fla., where the troops were based.
“The helicopter didn’t transmit any kind of distress call that we know of,” Austin said, adding that the helicopter was conducting normal operations at the time of the crash.
Other Information
From Travis Manion Foundation:
Lieutenant Christopher Snyder was killed when his SH-60B Seahawk crashed on December 13, 2005 while conducting anti-drug operations on Colombia’s Pacific Coast. Snyder was one of three naval aviators killed during the crash, all of who were from the Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 48 based at Mayport Naval Station. The other two aviators killed in the crash were Lieutenant (junior grade) Nicholas J. Juron and Petty Officer 2nd Class John N. Kaye III. There was no reported cause for the crash, though the Navy indicated to the families that there may have been mechanical problems with the helicopter.
Snyder was big New York Mets fan – something that garnered friendly rivalry with some of his fellow officers. He was a member of the class of 2000 at the United States Naval Academy.
Lieutenant Snyder died only a few months before he intended to give his mother’s engagement ring to Sarah Carter of Jacksonville Beach. He is survived by his intended fiancé, as well as other family and friends.
From researcher Kathy Franz: "1995 graduate of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School. His mother was Carol A. Snyder of Plainsboro."
From Legacy.com:
He was born in Hartford on Sept. 20, 1977, the son of Carol Snyder of New Jersey and the late Hugh (Frank) Snyder. He was a 2000 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.
Besides his mother, he is survived by his sister, Aliza Snyder, of Florida; and many aunts and uncles, including Michael and Susan Snyder, of New London, Donald and Nancy Faircloth, of Waterford, and Mary Ellen Snyder, of Killingly.
Christopher has a memory marker in New Jersey.
Remembrances
From the Naval Academy Alumni Association's "In Memoriam" page:
I had the pleasure of being in the same company as Chris… and he became one of my closest friends. I will always remember the good times I had with Chris and what a great naval officer and person he was. I feel truly blessed to have known him. James Cassell '99
Photographs
Via Heroes of the United States Naval Academy on Facebook
Related Articles
Nick Juron '02 was also killed in this crash.
Rank
Christopher's headstone indicates he was a Lieutenant Commander. Have been unable to find any other evidence of this. It would be extremely fast to be promoted so quickly; he had likely only been a Lieutenant for about a year and a half.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
