John Rolland Snowdall Papers

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of approximately 0.23 cubic feet of John Rolland Snowdall's personal papers including copies of his full military service records; Snowdall's Aviators Flight Log Book for all the official military flights in which he participated; photographs; and a newsclipping. The collection also contains ten humorous cartoons depicting Navy life signed by Chuck Haven. One of the cartoons is an original pencil sketch and Snowdall is the subject of the cartoon. Also in the collection is a page taken from a scrapbook which contains a handwritten poem entitled, "My Dog Tags," written by Charles MacJanus.

Biographical / Historical

John Rolland Snowdall enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of 17 in May 1941 in Creston, Iowa. After training, Snowdall was first assigned to Utility Squadron One (VJ-1) in February 1942 and was later stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. During this time, Snowdall was first a Seaman Second Class and later was a Aviation Machinist's Mate First Class. During his time with VJ-1, Snowdall worked on Sikorsky (S-43) JRS-1 and Grumman J2F-5 Duck aircraft. In April 1943, Snowdall was transferred to Utility Squadron 9 (VJ-9) and stationed at Espiritu Santo and Efate, Vanuatu. During this time, Snowdall worked on the following aircraft: Lockheed PV-1 Ventura; Consolidated PBY Catalina; Cessna JRC-1 (Cessna T-50); Martin (Glenn L.) JM-1 Marauder (Model 179C); Douglas SBD Dauntless; and the Grumman JRF-5 Goose. In April 1945, Snowdall was transferred once again to Utility Squadron Twelve (VJ-12). Snowdall attended Aircraft Hydraulics School in Chicago, Illinois in May 1945. John Rolland Snowdall was honorably discharged from the Navy in September 1945 as an Aviation Machinist's Mate H First Class.