A series of stories written in conjunction with Warsaw, Indiana’s, Old Jail Museum’s D-Day exhibit features the memories of local residents and are written by Grace College students. The fourth in the series was posted on Sunday and features former Grace College professor, R. Wayne Snider, who is also a member of the Winona Lake, Ind., Grace Brethren Church (Bruce Barlow, lead pastor). A portion of the story, written by GraceConnect’s Hannah Hubbard, is included below. Click here to read the complete article.
Snider Recalls Efforts Made From Home To Help During World War II
Wayne Snider
Wayne Snider was 13 when his older brother returned from the service station. He and his mother paused from playing Chinese checkers as his brother told the family that the “Japs bombed Pearl Harbor.” The family did not know what that meant for the country.
The town of Roaring Spring, Pa., where Snider was born in 1928, slowly became invested in the war as men they knew left for the service. They learned when they became POWs or were killed in action. The war grew personal in the small town and in the First Brethren Church. The residents listened to the radio broadcasts and read morning and evening newspapers every day.
As a child, Snider contributed to the war effort by dragging his wagon from street to street collecting scrap metal. He remembers being at school saving stamps on papers for purchasing war bonds. The playhouse in the yard stored newspapers for packing ammunition. His sister knit squares that were sewn together for afghans. He said that every drop of fat used in the home went into the Crisco can on the stove, then to the military for ammo.
When Snider was older, he drove his father, a doctor, to house calls. Rubber was scarce and new tires hard to get. People would recap old tires, usually poorly, leaving just the casing to drive on. His father was one of the only doctors left in the town when all the others went to war.
Snider and his brother joined the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). His father and a patient purchased an airplane together. His older brother quickly learned to fly. During his first year, Snider was a cadet in the CAP, which was mainly in charge of security as the military was increasingly needed overseas. The nearest airport, Martinsburg Airport, built in the mid-1930s, was designated for emergencies and mail transportation. The CAP monitored airports, helped with plane crashes, and flew over the ocean coast to spot submarines.
“Sometimes we were there all night and my dad, out making house calls, would come by the airport to see if we were still awake,” Snider said.
Click here to read the complete article.
