Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
3:24 | From being born and raised in Pennsylvania, Bill Snyder took a graduate course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for meteorology. From there, he went to Mitchel Field to join the Army Air Corps, and was eventually moved to a station in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was here that he heard the devastating news about the attack on Pearl Harbor. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH & LORAINE SCRIBA.)
Keywords : Bill Snyder Pennsylvania Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) meteorology Mitchel Field Army Air Corps Las Vegas Nevada Pearl Harbor HI Ursinus College PA graduate school weather forecast weather map training 2nd Lieutenant gunnery school weather station overseas England
When he was stationed overseas, Snyder went to England first but was quickly transferred to North Africa to help prepare weather maps for the pilots there. He and his team would often get weather forecasts from other countries to help them draw a more complete weather map. Occasionally, enemy aircraft would fly over their base and pose a potential threat to their operation. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH & LORAINE SCRIBA.)
After spending about a year in North Africa, Snyder was then transferred to another air base in Sicily, Italy. The planes that flew over there would not always be military personnel, but would also carry diplomats over to foreign countries. A few months later, he was sent back to the states to Florida for refresher training, and it was during this time that the war came to an end in Europe. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH & LORAINE SCRIBA.)
