GORDON A. SNYDER
Biography
(2009)
Gordon A. Snyder is a direct descendent of a founder of Louisville, Captain James Patton of the Illinois Regiment of George Rogers Clark. He is a lifelong resident of Louisville, graduating from Male High School in 1939. Gordon volunteered for service in the U.S. Coast Guard on February 14, 1942 and spent 23 months in the Southwest Pacific including the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. After the war, he spent several years in the Civil Air Patrol and was commissioned as a captain in the administration services of the U.S. Air Force.
Gordon retired from business in 1982, having been a food broker. In the last several years, he was one of the few civilians aboard the USS Kentucky (nuclear sub) patrolling in the Atlantic. Later, he was privileged to be a guest aboard the USS Louisville (nuclear sub) out of Pearl Harbor. In 2006, he was a special guest aboard the USS Harry Truman (a newly commissioned aircraft carrier). In 2007, Gordon was inducted into the Male High School Hall of Fame.
Gordon's Fraternal & Veteran Organization Memberships include:
- -Life Member Veterans of Foreign Wars
- -Navy League
- -Louisville Armed Forces Committee
- -Military Order of the World Wars
- -Military Officers Association of America
- -Society of Colonial Wars
- -Sons of the American Revolution, Life Member & Past President
- -Louisville Civil War Roundtable, Past President
- -John Hunt Morgan Chapter, Sons of Confederate Veterans
- -Orphan Brigade Kinfolks
- -Historic Homes Foundation
- -Patron Member of the Filson Club
Decorations and Awards include:
Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, China Service Medal, American Theater
Medal, Pacific Campaign Medal wt. 2 Bronze Stars, World War II Victory Medal, Asian
Occupation Medal, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation and the Philippine Liberation
Medal wt. 2 Stars.