Robert Carl Snethen

Robert Carl Snethen was raised in Decatur County in the rural town of Davis City. He was married and established residence in Lamoni. Snethen was drafted by the Army and received infantry training. He deployed to Southeast Asia in December 1968 with the 1st Infantry Division. PFC Snethen was killed five days after his 20th birthday, on June 25, 1969. The young Iowan sustained fatal gunshot wounds during an engagement with the enemy in the Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. The 20-year-old’s body was returned home and buried by his wife and parents in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Lamoni.