By John C. O'Connell
Well, the trip could start, as it did in John Snedeker's case, on a field trip in fifth grade from the Clear Stream Avenue Elementary School in Valley Stream. The father of a classmate, Janice Klasmier, was an American Airlines pilot, and he arranged for a class trip to Kennedy Airport.
As Snedeker walked through the cabin of an airliner that day, Captain Klasmier let him sit in the cockpit. "I gazed at the instruments and controls, and from that minute on I was hooked," he recalled. "I didn't have an exact game plan back then as to how - I was only a fifth-grader - but I knew in my heart that flying would be my passion."
And flying did become his passion, and his mission.
After graduating from Central High School in 1974 and earning a degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Florida, Snedeker was commissioned in the Navy through its ROTC scholarship program. He began his flight training in Pensacola, Fla., in June 1979.
Since then he's flown some 22 types of military aircraft for over 3,500 hours, in training and in combat, in Desert Storm and Desert Shield. And Captain Snedeker now commands the USS Iwo Jima, the Navy's newest multi-purpose amphibious assault ship, currently serving in harm's way.
"We certainly are very proud of him," said his parents, almost in unison. Jeanne and John Snedeker Sr., a Korean War vet, who still live in Valley Stream, have a wall in their basement filled with pictures of their son, the aircraft he's flown, the warships he's served on, and his medals.
John Jr. has earned the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross, with combat V; a Defense Meritorious Service Medal; a Meritorious Service Medal; Air Medals, individual and strike/flight, with combat V; Navy Commendation Medals, with combat V; an Air Force Commendation Medal, and several other unit and campaign awards.
Snedeker lists three things he's most proud of: "Flying in an A-6 Intruder on the first night of Desert Storm on January 16, 1991, from the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, and getting the opportunity to serve my country in a manner for which I was trained. Taking command of an F-14 Tomcat squadron and deploying onboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in 1997 to the Mediterranean Sea. And taking command of the ... Iwo Jima in December 2002, and forward deploying this past March as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom."
But these proud moments come with great risk. Being shot at over Iraq made for scary nights. "They threw everything up at us: surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft artillery, small-arms fire, kitchen sinks, etcetera," Snedeker said of his flights during Desert Storm. "I got shot at on every mission I flew on. We wore night-vision goggles, which not only showed us the SAM launches, but we also saw every single muzzle flash from each and every weapon fired at us. Must have been a zillion of them up around Baghdad."
The Iwo Jima, according to a recent e-mail from the captain, cleared the Suez Canal a few weeks ago. "We're now enroute to the Persian Gulf," Snedeker wrote. "The canal transit went smoothly, and it resembled cruising through the desert - but in a boat. Rather cool if I may say so. Temperature-wise, however, it's stifling hot with the outside air temp around 120 degrees each day. I'm told it's going to get hotter as we continue our voyage to the Gulf region with July and August being literal blast furnace months. What an adventure!"
Facing life-and-death dangers, in the air and at sea, is a stress servicemen and women deal with all the time. And there's one thing that keeps it from overwhelming them: support on the homefront.
"Whether we're at home or at a parade or an airshow or walking the streets of New York City during Fleetweek, when someone stops us and says, 'Thank you for defending us,' it has such a tremendous, lasting impact," Snedeker said. "And when the times get tough, like being away from home for six to eight months in a hot, hostile environment, we remember those comments of support, and it keeps us going."
Snedeker thinks of Valley Stream often and still has friends he made here in his school days. Snedeker, George McCallion and Steve Sweeney played sports at Central together and "[we've] stayed bonded throughout the years," Snedeker said. McCallion owns Fireside Catering on Long Island and Sweeney is an accountant living in Connecticut. Both visited the Iwo Jima during Fleetweek 2002 when it was berthed in Manhattan, Snedeker said, and also attended his Change of Command in Virginia in December. "When we get together, within minutes it's just like old times back in Valley Stream," Snedeker said. "I'm truly blessed to have such great friends for all these years."
Asked what advice he'd give Valley Stream students now, Snedeker said he'd tell them to pursue their goals with passion, as he did. "My guidance would be to follow their dreams," he said. "We often daydream or imagine ourselves as growing up and being someone or doing something. Don't ever let those dreams go. Focus your energies towards achieving your goals and dreams. And do it with a passion. You'll enjoy the journey as well."
