Wilburn Snyder
Encyclopedia
Wilburn L. Snyder was a Baptist
pastor
in Houston
, Texas
, and a survivor of the Bataan Death March
and internment
in the Philippine Islands during World War II
.
Snyder was born in Plain Dealing
in Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana
to Mary and G.A. Hammer. He graduated in 1940 from Lee High School in Baytown
, and attended Lee College
, a community college
in Baytown, and then the University of Houston
.
that he claimed to have been a year older than his actual age. In June 1940, he wanted to "get in on the ground floor” of a second world conflict which seemed imminent to many. "I was seventeen. I went by myself and enlisted," Snyder sad. His parents were reluctant to give their consent and regretted having done so when Snyder was declared missing in action
at Bataan.
After serving fifteen months at Fort Crockett
in Galveston
, Snyder was deployed to the Philippines as a combat medic
in the 3rd Battalion of the 31st Infantry. From that outfit of twenty-nine men, he was one of five who returned to the United States.
On Snyder’s death at the age of eighty-five, the Houston Chronicle
quoted his daughter, Theda Cuellar of Houston: “He had no hatred towards those people. As a Christian
, he put away all that hatred, but he wanted people to know what they went through.” Cuellar said that her father suffered twice from malaria
during the internment and was left for dead, but a United States Army
buddy stole medicine
from the Japan
ese invaders and nursed Snyder to health.
After American forces under general Edward P. King, Jr.
, surrendered on April 9, 1942, Snyder, along with some 12,000 American and 68,000 Filipino defenders of the Bataan peninsula
, was forced to march sixty-eight miles over fourteen days to the prison camp. On this journey, a large number of the soldier
s, denied food and water by the Japan
ese, perished. In surrendering, King disobeyed orders, but Snyder and other captives contended that the general had no alternative. Snyder said that the surrender was respected by the men who were afflicted from a lack of food, quinine
, medicine, and ammunition.
“I think it was one of the bravest things for him [General King] to do. He risked his whole military career when he did that because he did it against orders. He’s a tremendous man in my eyes. He saved about 12,000 Americans’ lives," said Snyder in a Memorial Day
2007 interview with his hometown Baytown Sun
newspaper
.
In his own words, Snyder recalled the Death March:
"Any troops who fell behind were executed. Japanese troops beat soldiers randomly, and denied the POWs food and water for many days. One of their tortures was known as the sun treatment. The Philippines in April is very hot. Therefore, the POWs were forced to sit in the sun without any shade, helmet
s, or water. Anyone who dared ask for water was executed. On the rare occasion they were given any food, it was only a handful of contaminated rice
. When the prisoners were allowed to sleep for a few hours at night, they were packed into enclosures so tight that they could barely move. Those who lived collapsed on the dead bodies of their comrades. For only a brief part of the march would POWs be packed into railroad cars and allowed to ride. Those who did not die in the suffocating boxcars were forced to march about seven more miles until they reached their camp. It took the POWs over a week to reach their destination."
Snyder said that the march could have been easily achieved had the men been in good physical condition and not denied sustenance. "It was the condition that we were in that made it . . . a death sentence." Snyder said that he and his comrades could barely walk a few steps without seeing another dead body. They saw so many of their friends die . . . I know this sounds hard to believe, but we actually got used to death," Snyder recalled.
aired a documentary
, "Bataan: the Forgotten Hell", to observe the 40th anniversary of the march and recall the brutalities inflicted on the captives. Japan had refused to sign the 1929 Geneva Convention Relating to the Treatment of POWs
. Nearly half of the men died of dehydration
and heat exhaustion.
With the end of the war, Sndyer and 105 other prisoners were liberated on August 15, 1945. Years after his captivity, Snyder attended a military reunion in the Philippines. Donald Knox, in the book Death March: The Survivors of Bataan (New York: Harcourt Brace Inc., 1981), recalls Snyder having asked his Filipino guide why a particular group of children was holding the “V” for victory sign to the visiting American veterans. “What do those little kids know about that sign?”, Snyder asked. The guide replied, “They may not know how to read and write, but they know about Bataan.”
Snyder was chaplain
for the Gulf Coast chapter of American Ex-Prisoners of War
, a veterans service organization founded in Arlington, Texas
, in the wake of Bataan.
for Ethyl Corporation
. A co-worker conducted a Bible
study group in which Snyder agreed to participate. He had not been a Christian during his military service. He had described his personal anger as essential to having overcome the odds against survival at Bataan. On being converted to Christianity and called to the ministry, Snyder said that he believed that God
instilled anger in him to bring him through Bataan.
Over the years, Snyder served as pastor of various Houston area Baptist churches, including Kashmere Garden, Northwood Manor, East Houston, and Candlestick.
First unable to forget the suffering that he endured as a prisoner, Snyder harbored a strong hatred for the men who showed no mercy to him and other captive Americans and Filipinos. "When I got back [to the United States], if I had the power to push a button and sink every island in Japan, that’s what I would have done. But since the Lord’s been in my life, I’ve been back to Japan four times to preach to them. I love them."
, David Smith of Crosby
, and Gregg Smith of Baytown; other daughter, Renae Haskins of Pasadena
, Texas; three brothers, Alva John Hammer of Baytown and C.J. Snyder and Michael Snyder of Louisiana; and three sisters, Margaret A. Selzler of Raeford, North Carolina
, Judy Marie Snyder Knippers (born ca. 1950) and husband William C. “Buddy” Knippers of Dry Prong
in Grant Parish, and Faye Harris of Louisiana.
Services were held on May 15 at First Baptist Church in Galena Park
. Interment was at San Jacinto Memorial Park Cemetery near Baytown.
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and a survivor of the Bataan Death March
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer, by the Imperial Japanese Army, of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of prisoners.The march was characterized by...
and internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
in the Philippine Islands during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Snyder was born in Plain Dealing
Plain Dealing, Louisiana
Plain Dealing is a town in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States best known as the birthplace of former U.S. Representative Joe D. Waggonner, Jr. The population was 1,071 at the 2000 census...
in Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
to Mary and G.A. Hammer. He graduated in 1940 from Lee High School in Baytown
Baytown, Texas
Baytown is a city within Harris County and partially in Chambers County in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. state of Texas. Located within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, it lies along both State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. As of 2010, Baytown had an population of 71,802...
, and attended Lee College
Lee College
Lee College is a comprehensive community college located in Baytown, Texas, approximately east of Houston, Texas.Lee College's main campus occupies landscaped near downtown Baytown and maintains extension campuses throughout its service area...
, a community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
in Baytown, and then the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
.
POW years
Snyder was so eager to join the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
that he claimed to have been a year older than his actual age. In June 1940, he wanted to "get in on the ground floor” of a second world conflict which seemed imminent to many. "I was seventeen. I went by myself and enlisted," Snyder sad. His parents were reluctant to give their consent and regretted having done so when Snyder was declared missing in action
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
at Bataan.
After serving fifteen months at Fort Crockett
Fort Crockett
Fort Crockett is a government reservation on Galveston Island overlookingthe Gulf of Mexico originally built as a defense installation to protect the city and harbor of Galveston and to secure the entrance to Galveston Bay,...
in Galveston
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, Snyder was deployed to the Philippines as a combat medic
Medic
Medic is a general term for a person involved in medicine, especially emergency or first-response medicine, such as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, or a military member trained in battlefield medicine. Also the term is used toward a Nurse in pre-hospital care and/or emergency...
in the 3rd Battalion of the 31st Infantry. From that outfit of twenty-nine men, he was one of five who returned to the United States.
On Snyder’s death at the age of eighty-five, the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
quoted his daughter, Theda Cuellar of Houston: “He had no hatred towards those people. As a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, he put away all that hatred, but he wanted people to know what they went through.” Cuellar said that her father suffered twice from malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
during the internment and was left for dead, but a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
buddy stole medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
from the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese invaders and nursed Snyder to health.
After American forces under general Edward P. King, Jr.
Edward P. King
Edward Postell King Jr. was a Major General in the United States Army who gained prominence for leading the defense of the Bataan Peninsula in the Battle of Bataan against the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in World War II.-Education:...
, surrendered on April 9, 1942, Snyder, along with some 12,000 American and 68,000 Filipino defenders of the Bataan peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
, was forced to march sixty-eight miles over fourteen days to the prison camp. On this journey, a large number of the soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s, denied food and water by the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese, perished. In surrendering, King disobeyed orders, but Snyder and other captives contended that the general had no alternative. Snyder said that the surrender was respected by the men who were afflicted from a lack of food, quinine
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
, medicine, and ammunition.
“I think it was one of the bravest things for him [General King] to do. He risked his whole military career when he did that because he did it against orders. He’s a tremendous man in my eyes. He saved about 12,000 Americans’ lives," said Snyder in a Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
2007 interview with his hometown Baytown Sun
Baytown Sun
The Baytown Sun, is a newspaper published in Baytown, Texas, United States. It was first published 1919 as the Goose Creek Gasser. The paper is owned by Southern Newspapers Inc., a news-media company based in Houston, Texas.-History:...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
.
In his own words, Snyder recalled the Death March:
"Any troops who fell behind were executed. Japanese troops beat soldiers randomly, and denied the POWs food and water for many days. One of their tortures was known as the sun treatment. The Philippines in April is very hot. Therefore, the POWs were forced to sit in the sun without any shade, helmet
Helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...
s, or water. Anyone who dared ask for water was executed. On the rare occasion they were given any food, it was only a handful of contaminated rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
. When the prisoners were allowed to sleep for a few hours at night, they were packed into enclosures so tight that they could barely move. Those who lived collapsed on the dead bodies of their comrades. For only a brief part of the march would POWs be packed into railroad cars and allowed to ride. Those who did not die in the suffocating boxcars were forced to march about seven more miles until they reached their camp. It took the POWs over a week to reach their destination."
Snyder said that the march could have been easily achieved had the men been in good physical condition and not denied sustenance. "It was the condition that we were in that made it . . . a death sentence." Snyder said that he and his comrades could barely walk a few steps without seeing another dead body. They saw so many of their friends die . . . I know this sounds hard to believe, but we actually got used to death," Snyder recalled.
Remembering Bataan
In the spring of 1982, NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
aired a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, "Bataan: the Forgotten Hell", to observe the 40th anniversary of the march and recall the brutalities inflicted on the captives. Japan had refused to sign the 1929 Geneva Convention Relating to the Treatment of POWs
Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...
. Nearly half of the men died of dehydration
Dehydration
In physiology and medicine, dehydration is defined as the excessive loss of body fluid. It is literally the removal of water from an object; however, in physiological terms, it entails a deficiency of fluid within an organism...
and heat exhaustion.
With the end of the war, Sndyer and 105 other prisoners were liberated on August 15, 1945. Years after his captivity, Snyder attended a military reunion in the Philippines. Donald Knox, in the book Death March: The Survivors of Bataan (New York: Harcourt Brace Inc., 1981), recalls Snyder having asked his Filipino guide why a particular group of children was holding the “V” for victory sign to the visiting American veterans. “What do those little kids know about that sign?”, Snyder asked. The guide replied, “They may not know how to read and write, but they know about Bataan.”
Snyder was chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
for the Gulf Coast chapter of American Ex-Prisoners of War
American Ex-Prisoners of War
Prisoners of War is a service organization that aims to assist the surviving U.S. military prisoner of war , particularly those who are elderly and those who have medical problems. Based in Arlington, Texas, the American Ex-Prisoners of War was founded in 1942. It received a congressional charter...
, a veterans service organization founded in Arlington, Texas
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
, in the wake of Bataan.
Ministry
After the war, Snyder returned to the Houston area and worked as a pipefitterPipefitter
A pipefitter is a tradesman who lays out, assembles, fabricates, maintains and repairs mechanical piping systems. Pipefitters usually go through a mix of apprentice and trade school training. Journeyman pipefitters/steamfitters deal with industrial process piping and heating/cooling systems...
for Ethyl Corporation
Ethyl Corporation
Ethyl Corporation is a fuel additive company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. The company is a manufacturer, blender and distributor of fuel additives...
. A co-worker conducted a Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
study group in which Snyder agreed to participate. He had not been a Christian during his military service. He had described his personal anger as essential to having overcome the odds against survival at Bataan. On being converted to Christianity and called to the ministry, Snyder said that he believed that God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
instilled anger in him to bring him through Bataan.
Over the years, Snyder served as pastor of various Houston area Baptist churches, including Kashmere Garden, Northwood Manor, East Houston, and Candlestick.
First unable to forget the suffering that he endured as a prisoner, Snyder harbored a strong hatred for the men who showed no mercy to him and other captive Americans and Filipinos. "When I got back [to the United States], if I had the power to push a button and sink every island in Japan, that’s what I would have done. But since the Lord’s been in my life, I’ve been back to Japan four times to preach to them. I love them."
Death
Snyder died in the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Houston. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Florence. In addition to daughter Theda Cuellar, survivors include his second wife, Lan’l Snyder of Baytown; sons, Kyle Snyder of GoliadGoliad, Texas
Goliad is a city in Goliad County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 1975 at the 2000 census. Founded on the San Antonio River, it is the county seat of Goliad County. It is part of the Victoria, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Goliad is located on U.S. Highway 59, named also for...
, David Smith of Crosby
Crosby, Texas
Crosby is a census-designated place in Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,714 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Crosby is located at ....
, and Gregg Smith of Baytown; other daughter, Renae Haskins of Pasadena
Pasadena, Texas
Pasadena is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Harris County, 17th-largest in Texas, and 162nd largest in the United States. The area was founded in 1893 by John H. Burnett of Galveston....
, Texas; three brothers, Alva John Hammer of Baytown and C.J. Snyder and Michael Snyder of Louisiana; and three sisters, Margaret A. Selzler of Raeford, North Carolina
Raeford, North Carolina
Raeford is a city in Hoke County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,386 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hoke County. The county was named after Confederate General Robert F. Hoke, as Tar Heel native....
, Judy Marie Snyder Knippers (born ca. 1950) and husband William C. “Buddy” Knippers of Dry Prong
Dry Prong, Louisiana
Dry Prong is a village in central Grant Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 421 at the 2000 census.-History:...
in Grant Parish, and Faye Harris of Louisiana.
Services were held on May 15 at First Baptist Church in Galena Park
Galena Park, Texas
Galena Park is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 10,887 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. Interment was at San Jacinto Memorial Park Cemetery near Baytown.