“He was hilarious. He made everybody laugh around him. He had a huge heart, for sure,” said Hall, 23. “I dated him for a little while. He was just the nicest guy. He made everybody laugh and smile. Very selfless and always gave 100 percent towards everyone else.”
Against a backdrop of a blue-gray sky, Snow’s body was flown into Wright-Patterson Air Force Base at 9:36 a.m. A short, quiet dignified transfer ceremony was held in front of 350-plus military personnel, friends and family at Hangar 206.
After that, Snow’s flag-draped silver transfer case was placed into a Belton- Stroup Funeral Home hearse and led by the motorcycle-driving Ohio Honor Guard through Fairborn.
Hall lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, who is a member of the military. She said she traveled to Fairborn to show her support.
“He gave the ultimate sacrifice,” Hall said. “This is the least I could do, was to be out here and support his family and welcome him home.”
Snow’s father, John W. Snow Sr., is a retired chief master sergeant at Wright-Patterson.
“My wife (Janice) is taking it pretty rough as you would expect,” Snow said Monday night. “I am, too.”
On Monday, before the dignified transfer ceremony, Snow Sr. said: “To sum it up in a nutshell, all he did was care about other people before himself. He loved little kids, especially. You’ll see pictures of him in Afghanistan with his arms around kids.
“He gave a little girl ChapStick and broke down in tears, almost. He just cared about everybody. I’d be cutting the grass and he’d say, ‘Dad, let me cut the grass.’ So, he was a good kid. He was a mama’s boy, believe me.”
All of Snow’s family was there, but only Snow Sr. and John W. Snow Jr. — a a master sergeant who recently returned from a tour in Iraq — spoke to the media. They thanked the military and civilian communities for their outpouring of support.
“We’re in a state of shock yet; but at the same time, we’ve got a lot of pride, my whole family. We loved our son, and we’re going to miss him dearly; but I’m proud of what he did,” Snow Sr. said. “He fought for a noble cause none of us regret ... The enemy probably thinks they are breaking our resolve, but I will tell you something, this family is stronger than ever and we’re going to continue our path.”
On Monday night, Snow Sr. talked about his last phone call with Jesse.
“It was on Veterans Day, but he was more concerned about telling us that he loved us,” Snow Sr. said. “His mother, he was so concerned about his mom. He said, ‘Dad, this is bad.’ He was supposed to come home on the 16th, which he did, but it was not the way I wanted.”
Snow Sr. hinted that the tale of his son’s heroism won’t be told for some time. The family has had some communication with soldiers who were present during the firefight in which Jesse and at least five of his fellow comrades died.
The others were: Spc. Shane H. Ahmed from Chesterfield, Mich.; Spc. Shannon M. Chihuahua from Thomasville, Ga.; Spc. Nathan E. Lillard from Knoxville, Tenn.; Spc. Scott T. Nagorski from Greenfield, Wis.; and Pfc. Christian M. Warriner from Mills River, N.C., who all died of wounds sustained during Operation Bulldog Bite, a four-day push to search out militants and weapons caches near the Pech river earlier this month.
A military website reported the soldiers from Task Force Bulldog were honored Nov. 21 during a memorial service at Combat Outpost Honikker Miracle in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar Province.
The soldiers were all with Abu Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
“There’s something that’s a lot more than meets the eye,” Snow Sr. said. “We won’t know, but I was told it’s an ongoing operation and there will be an investigation.”
The military website said Snow participated in more than 18 air assault missions and three major operations. His major awards and decorations include the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Army Commendation Medal.
“I guarantee when things come out in the news, when you guys finally hear the real story, what’s going on, it doesn’t surprise me one bit,” Snow Sr. said. “I can tell you this much. People use the term hero. This kid was a real hero and I’m proud of my son.”
The family has said a slide show and appreciation for Snow will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at Fairborn High School with the funeral set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at Mary, Help of Christians Parish, where Jesse Snow was an altar boy and had his first communion. A full military burial will be at Byron Cemetery.
Gov. Ted Strickland has ordered Ohio flags to be at half-staff Tuesday.
Besides his parents, Jesse Snow is also survived by his siblings, Daniel J. Snow, Alex Snow, John W. Snow Jr., Megan Crowley Lingerfelt and Robert Snow and their families.
Staff photographer Chris Stewart contributed to this report.
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