Ribbons spread across Cohocton to honor Devin Snyder, family. Andrew Poole.Volunteers placed large, handmade yellow ribbons — with smaller red, white, and blue ribbons — across Cohocton on telephone poles and the new gazebo Wednesday in honor of U.S. Army Spc. Devin Snyder, who was killed Saturday in Afghanistan.


By Andrew Poole
The Evening Tribune
Posted Jun 09, 2011 @ 10:20 AM


Cohocton, N.Y. — In what will probably be one of several memorials for U.S. Army Spc. Devin Snyder, volunteers hung yellow ribbons across Cohocton on Wednesday in remembrance of her sacrifice.

Volunteers attached handmade large yellow ribbons — with smaller red, white, and blue ribbons in the middle — to telephone poles in the village.

Cohocton native Snyder, 20, and three other military policemen were killed Saturday by a roadside bomb in the Laghman Province in Afghanistan. She was scheduled to come home for two weeks in July.

A 2008 graduate of Wayland-Cohocton High School, Snyder came from a family with strong ties to military service. Her father, Edward Snyder, is a U.S. Navy veteran, and two of her siblings, Natasha Snyder, 23, and Damien Snyder, 19, are serving in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army, respectively.

Snyder is survived by her parents, Ed and Dineen Snyder; two brothers, Derek (Mariah) Snyder, 28, and Damien Snyder, 19; a sister, Natasha Snyder, 23; and a niece, Ariel.

Cohocton Supervisor Jack Zigenfus said the whole community came together to hang the yellow ribbons.

“It’s normal to display support for the family,” he said. “Our plan was to line the streets in the village, especially the route to the cemetery.”

By Wednesday afternoon, the ribbons were hanging from telephone poles along State Route 415. Zigenfus said the remaining ribbons would be placed in the village after he met with the Atlanta and Cohocton American Legions, the Cohocton fire department and Atlanta-North Cohocton Fire District, Mayor Thomas Cox, and the Cohocton police department Wednesday night.

Zigenfus said the meeting was to coordinate memorial efforts for Snyder, according to her family’s wishes. Cohocton police Officer-in-Charge Rob Anger is coordinating Snyder’s procession with the state police and Livingston and Steuben County Sheriff’s Offices.

Dates and times for the services have not been set.

The supervisor said he will likely recommend to the town board at the June 20 meeting that a pavillion at Lawrence Parks be named after Snyder, who worked in the park for several years.

Natasha and Damien Snyder also worked in the park, and Dineen Snyder, the fallen specialist’s mother, was the park director for several years.

“It’s a fitting place to honor her. There’s a long family connection with the park,” said Zigenfus.