1. Fallen soldier: Snyder last spoke with family on Good Friday
Vincennes Sun-Commercial (IN) - March 29, 2005
Author/Byline: JENNIFER EARLES, staff writer
Section: News
SULLIVAN - Norman "Kyle" Snyder always loved Easter and being with his family and celebrating his faith at the First Christian Church
here, and that's what he and his mother, Donna Shots, talked about when the Indiana National Guard radio operator called her on Good
Friday.
"He had just sent me some Easter flowers and a nice card," Shots recalled Monday afternoon. "He told me he would be home soon
enough."
And so he will.
Snyder, 21, Carlisle, and three of other guardsmen were killed early March 26 when the vehicle they were riding in struck a land mine in
Logar Province about 30 miles south of Kabul, Afghanistan. The incident remains under investigation by the military.
Shots learned of her son's death later in the day.
"I knew when the two Army officials came to the door ... I just knew what they wanted," she said. "They don't just come to your house for
any reason. After they told me, everything was a blur."
Kyle's death, tragic as it was, came as an especially severe shock to his mother, who thought her son had a "safe" job at Camp Phoenix.
"He had a safe job, he worked in an office and was a radio control operator," Shots said. "I never realized the danger he and the other
soldiers were in. I only thought people died in Iraq."
Vincennes attorney Brian Dickerson, and Knox County Deputy Prosecutor Hal Johnston, Terre Haute, are also stationed at Camp
Phoenix. Dickerson is a lieutenant colonel and Johnston a major in the Indiana National Guard. During a visit home in December
Johnston described life inside the camp as fairly normal despite its being in a "combat zone" with regular rocket attacks.
But outside the camp, he said, troops must travel in convoys and soldiers have to wear protective body armor at all times.
"It's a dangerous place," Johnston had said, adding there are land mines "everywhere."
Snyder joined the guard after graduating from Sullivan High School in 2002. He had been in Afghanistan since last July.
"He joined the National Guard because he wanted me to be proud of him," Shots said. "He joined after high school as a way to go to
college."
Snyder planned to enroll in Indiana State University and major in speech pathology, his mother said.
Shots raised Snyder and his sister, Shelli, 20, Carlisle, by herself for over 10 years. However, she said Snyder's father, Jerry, remained
active in her son's life.
Shots said her son was looking forward to coming home as early as July. "He thought he was in the downhill stretch," she said.
She is proud to know her son was doing something positive when he died. She also still believes in the work the U.S. is doing in the
Middle East.
"The fact that he died serving his country is what is helping me through all this," Shots said. "He didn't die in a car crash or anything like
that. He died honorably and I am so proud of him."
SLAIN GUARDSMAN REMEMBERED AS 'CLASS CLOWN,' GOOD FRIEND
He was the class clown who stole the hearts of everyone around him.
That was the Kyle Snyder family and friends remembered Monday afternoon.
Snyder, 21, Carlisle, and three of other guardsmen were killed early March 26 when the vehicle they were riding in struck a land mine in
Logar Province about 30 miles south of Kabul, Afghanistan. The incident remains under investigation by the military.

2. Snyder's sister, Shelli, 20, Carlisle, said he was more than a brother to her - he also was her friend.
"He was always smiling and always the life of the party. Everyone wanted to be around him," Shelli said. "And he always stood up for his
family and friends. He knew what he believed in and knew he wanted to join the National Guard. He wanted to travel and to go to college
and this was his way."
Shelli said even though her brother wanted to become a speech pathologist, he also was a great athlete and very artistic.
"He painted, wrote poetry and loved to play musical instruments like the bongos," she said. "Then on the other side, he also was good at
soccer."
During boot camp at Fort Jackson, N. C., Shelli said her brother had designed a mural on the doors to his barracks. "He could make the
best out of any situation," she said.
Christopher Bowne, 19, had known Snyder since the eighth-grade, when Snyder earned the nickname, "Your Neighborhood Radioactive
Snyderman" - instead of Spiderman, Bowne said.
Snyder also earned the title "Class Clown" his senior year at Sullivan High School in 2002.
"We hung out everyday we were in school together," Bowne said. "He was hilarious and always looked at the bright side of things."
Bowne said he told Snyder he was crazy for joining the National Guard, but since his friend was deployed, Bowne's outlook on the Army
has changed.
"He took pride in the work he was doing over there and we all soon realized that," Bowne said. "He was there to protect us."
Bowne said although he cried when he heard news of Snyder's death, it hasn't quite sunk in.
"It will be the hardest when we see him at the funeral and know that (his death) is real," Bowne said. "He was always the one who was
there for me to pull me out of whatever bad mood I was in."
Snyder had a big heart, Bowne said, and made everyone around him a better person.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Holmes Memorial Chapel in Sullivan.
Record: 10CBA81BF0E69745
Copyright: Copyright 2005 Vincennes Sun-Commercial