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<em>Campbell Hodges Snyder</em>; a man whose name evokes the warm emotions of honor, respect, friendship, devotion, yes love. That rare man who was a man even at the young age when he entered West Point. A brilliant intellect who was as close to being a genius as any of us will ever encounter. And yet, with it all, a man to whom many of us will have a lifelong debt for the example he set for us, and for the help in academics and in life’s everyday problems, which seemed so insurmountable to us but so easy for him.</p>
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Cam Snyder was born 27 January 1916 and spent his early years at Como, his family’s plantation near Gilbert, outside of Winnsboro, Louisiana. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. William M. Snyder, and his brothers and sister were a loving, close knit family, justifiably proud of his many achievements. Cam’s untimely death was a shock to all of them, a personal, devastating blow from which it was even harder for them to recover than his classmates.</p>
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Cam’s first seven years of schooling were at a one room rural school house, but his natural ability and the nurturing assistance of a gifted and supportive family enabled him to enter Louisiana Polytechnic Institute at age 15. Thus, when he arrived at West Point at age 17, he already had two years of college behind him.</p>
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Cam’s interest in West Point was stimulated by his uncle, Lieutenant General Campbell Blackshear Hodges, Class of 1903, a distinguished soldier who served as Commandant of Cadets at West Point, Military Aide to President Hoover, and later, President of Louisiana State University. General Hodges carefully monitored Cam’s cadet career and he was not disappointed. He quickly emerged as an academic leader and graduated second in his class, standing first during second class year, when the preponderance of subjects were technical.</p>
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Cam was a quiet, reserved, almost shy person, but his warm sense of humor, thoughtfulness, integrity (he was H Company’s Honor Representative), loyalty, cheerfulness and devotion to duty, earned him the respect and friendship of all who knew him. Cam had the analytical, far ranging, probing intellect which enabled him to comprehend and solve the most complex and difficult problems. He applied this intellect to the ordering of his every day life. Second class year he embarked on a campaign against the Tactical Department; he would go through the year without a demerit. He almost succeeded. But he was neither a drudge nor a wimp. First class summer he was among that unfortunate, adventuresome group who returned late to camp; he spent a month on the area and gave up his stripes.</p>
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At graduation, Cam chose the Corps of Engineers, with assignment to the Army Air Corps for flight training at Randolph Field. The physical exam got him, and by November he was back with the Corps of Engineers, as assistant to the Vicksburg, Mississippi district engineer. Cam was assigned to construction supervision and inspection duties at Sardis Dam, Sardis, Mississippi. His love affair with the idea of flying persisted, and by October 1938, he was back at Randolph Field. He was again found physically disqualified in April 1939, and assigned to duty with the district engineer, San Francisco. Cam spent a few months on construction supervision of a project at Eureka, California, and then entered the University of California at Berkeley, where he received his Master of Science degree in civil engineering.</p>
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While at Sardis and Eureka, Cam developed an interest in soils mechanics, and this became his major in graduate school. In the same manner as at West Point, where his classmates struggled with everyday problems, Cam breezed through with little effort. His main activity seemed to be helping out those of us who were less fortunate academically. It was during this period that this young man from the bayous developed a serious interest in skiing, and Cam spent most of his weekends at Tahoe. While the rest of the class labored on rather prosaic subjects for their theses, Cam set about inventing a device for electronically measuring soil pressures in earthen fill structures, an idea far ahead of its time, and a real contribution to the science.</p>
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After graduation from the University of California, Cam married Mary Jane Hunter, daughter of Colonel Hunter, District Engineer, San Francisco. Cam and Mary Jane left shortly thereafter on the US AT U.S. Grant to Manila for station in the Philippine Islands. Mary Jane was evacuated in May 1941 and Cam was stationed at Fort McKinley where he shared quarters with classmate Bill Chenoweth. After Pearl Harbor, Cam remained with the 14th Engineers, who did yeomen service on Bataan. During the fighting on Bataan, Chenoweth and Cam were riding down a dusty road and spotted a loaf of bread that had fallen off a ration truck. They jumped out of the car and retrieved the bread, laughing loudly at what their wives would say if they could see them riding down the road eating it.</p>
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After the surrender, Cam survived the Death March and was at Camp O’Donnell. He was seen some time after that, a walking skeleton, greatly reduced in strength by sunstroke, dysentery, and malaria, so that he could eat only one spoonful of rice at a time. He improved slowly.</p>
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As fortunes deteriorated in Japan, Cam and many others were loaded on prison ships for transfer to Japan. Cam’s ship was bombed by American aircraft and Cam was killed.</p>
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Cam was a patriot, a true son of West Point, totally loyal to his family and friends, and devoted to the service of his country. What a tragedy for this wonderful person not to have been permitted to live and accomplish all the things of which he was capable. But what an honor and a privilege for us to have known him and counted him as a friend. We will never forget.</p>
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<em>Written by a group of admiring classmates</em></p>
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