Almost 100 people came to Section 78 of Arlington National Cemetery on June 25, 2024, to bid farewell to retired U.S. Army Col. James “Glenn” Snodgrass, who fought in Vietnam and served in Germany at the height of the Cold War.
Snodgrass served in Vietnam as a platoon leader with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR), known as the Blackhorse Regiment. During the 1980s, he continued to serve with the 11th ACR in West Germany and commanded the regiment’s First Squadron from 1985 to 1987. During his retirement, he organized Blackhorse reunions and served for four years as the president of the Blackhorse Association.
Funeral attendees reflected Col. Snodgrass’ cavalry legacy. Many wore Blackhorse pins on their lapels, and others wore the distinctive blue cavalry hats. A color guard Soldier held an 11th ACR flag high while a bagpiper played “Amazing Grace.”
“He was the epitome of a strong leader both on and off the battlefield,” Army Chaplain (Capt.) Brady Feltz said, stressing that Snodgrass had earned his spurs. “He led men into and out of battle. There are men who came home because of his valor, courage and his steely nerve in the fields of Vietnam. There are men who came home from future wars because of who he was as a commander, as a leader and as a Soldier.”
Feltz also noted Snodgrass’s competitiveness, his love of sports and his lessons on integrity. Looking at Snodgrass’ family, including his wife Joan, he added, “We will miss him most as who he was as a leader, as a mentor and a father, and as your husband of 54 years.”
Several friends who attended spoke about what Snodgrass meant to them. “He was the best boss I had in 23 years in the Army,” said retired Lt. Col. Roger Cirillo, who worked for Snodgrass twice in Germany. “He was a great man, a good soldier, an incredible leader and he had a lot of heart.”
Staff Sgt. Willis Embree, a fellow Vietnam veteran who met Snodgrass at a Blackhorse funeral in 2017, recalled, “I mentioned a couple of stories and he asked me to meet him for breakfast and we became fast friends.” Embree’s wife Joyce added that Snodgrass attended “every one of the Blackhorse reunions.”
Retired Col. Joseph Sutton, who served with Snodgrass in West Germany in the early 1980s, called Snodgrass one of his best friends. “I never heard Glenn Snodgrass in the whole time I knew him, more than 40 years, say something bad about anybody,” Sutton said. “You’ll never in your whole life meet a finer man.”
