Army Spc. Jesse A. Snow

Died November 14, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

---

25, of Fairborn, Ohio; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 14 in Watahpur district, Kunar province, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire.

---

Details given on deadly attack in Kunar province

By Heidi Vogt

The Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan — NATO on Nov. 18 released the first details on an insurgent attack that killed five U.S. soldiers, saying the Americans were trying to rout militants from a volatile valley in eastern Kunar province when they came under fire.

The area along Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan has continued to see heavy fighting as NATO focuses most of its efforts on a troop surge in the south aimed at breaking Taliban strongholds there.

The five American soldiers who died Nov. 14 were “conducting clearing operations” when they came under fire in Watahpur valley, said Master Sgt. Brian Sipp, a spokesman for the international military alliance.

The soldiers are 27-year-old Spc. Scott Thomas Nagorski of Greenfield, Wis.; 25-year-old Spc. Jesse Adam Snow of Fairborn, Ohio; 26-year-old Spc. Nathan Edward Lillard of Knoxville, Tenn.; 31-year-old Spc. Shane Hasan Ahmed of Chesterfield, Mich.; and 19-year-old Pfc. Christian Michael Warriner of Mills River, N.C.

Sipp did not say how many troops were involved in the fight, nor provide an estimate of the number of attackers. The fighting started about 2 p.m. and lasted at least six hours, he said, with the wounded and the killed not being evacuated until late that evening.

All six deaths occurred during a four-day push called Operation Bulldog Bite to search out militants and weapons caches near the Pech river.

The area has long been a transit route for insurgents coming over from the Pakistan border and has proved a tricky area for U.S. forces trying to secure the mountainous terrain and coax villagers away from supporting the insurgents and criminals who control much of the area.

Watahpur is just 5 miles from the Korengal valley, where U.S. troops ceased operations seven months ago, saying that it was not strategically important. Forty-two Americans died in Korengal before the troops pulled out.

Operation Bulldog Bite has killed at least five insurgents, though there have been unconfirmed reports of as many as 49 insurgents killed, said Maj. Mary Constantino, a spokeswoman for U.S. forces in the area.

In addition, the forces found weapons caches containing mortar systems with rounds, more than a dozen rocket-propelled grenades, 20 anti-aircraft rounds

“Operation Bulldog Bite has degraded the insurgents’ ability to terrorize the people of the Pech valley,” Constantino said.

Three Afghan soldiers were also killed in the operation, said Gen. Khalilullah Zaiyi, the Kunar province police chief. He said about 30 insurgents were killed.

---

Joined in family’s tradition of military service

The Associated Press

Jesse Snow and his brother were five years apart, but they shared “a bond that can never be broken,” the brother said.

Alex Snow told The Dayton (Ohio) Daily News that he was extremely close to his brother. The two talked on the phone as much as they could. He said Jesse Snow joined the military after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because he “felt a calling.”

“He answered that call and believed in the mission every step of the way,” said Alex, who is an Army ROTC cadet battalion commander.

Jesse Snow, 25, of Fairborn, Ohio, was one of five soldiers killed Nov. 14 in Kunar province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky. He graduated from Fairborn High School, where he was in the junior ROTC program.

“He was quiet, but he always worked hard for me and he always tried to do the right thing,” said Maj. Tony Rulli, who is with the school’s ROTC program.

Rulli, who had known Snow since he was a young Little Leaguer, said he was a social person who was loved by all who knew him.

Jesse Snow grew up in a military family — his father, John, is an Air Force master sergeant.

---

Slain Fort Campbell soldier from Ohio to get honor

The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio — The U.S. Army is presenting the Silver Star to the family of a Fort Campbell, Ky., soldier from Ohio who saved the lives of three servicemen before being fatally wounded in a battle with insurgents in Afghanistan.

The posthumous award for Army Specialist Jesse Snow of Fairborn will be presented Friday at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. It's the nation's third-highest honor for valor in the face of the enemy.

The museum says Snow is being recognized for "courageous and selfless actions in saving the lives of three fellow brothers in arms and solely denying the enemy the ability to capture any American soldiers."

The 25-year-old Snow was among five Fort Campbell soldiers killed in the Nov. 14, 2010, battle.

---

Section of Ohio highway dedicated to slain soldier

The Associated Press

FAIRBORN, Ohio — A section of a western Ohio road has been dedicated to a soldier who pulled two wounded comrades to safety before he was killed in Afghanistan.

Media outlets report a memorial service dedicating part of state Route 235 to Army Spc. Jesse Snow was held Thursday in a park just east of Interstate 675. The ceremony included the unveiling of a sign honoring Snow.

The Fairborn native was 25 when he was killed as his platoon was attacked by enemy fire on Nov. 14, 2010. Thursday's ceremony took place on what would have been his 28th birthday.

Snow was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the nation's third highest combat medal, in a 2011 ceremony at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force near Dayton.