By Karin Grunden/Tribune-Star/Sullivan,  Terre Haute, Indiana

On the day he joined the Indiana National Guard, Norman “Kyle” Snyder walked into Sullivan American Legion Post 139 and paid his dues to join the world's largest veterans organization.

He'd already been a member of the Sons of the American Legion for a year - his mom purchased a membership for him when he was 17.

Being part of the Legion was natural for her son, Donna Shots of Carlisle said Saturday. After all, his grandfather and great-grandfather were veterans. And his mom has been attending Legion Auxiliary functions since the age of 4, the same year her grandmother bought her a membership.

“He couldn't wait to be a member and come here and drink a beer,” Shots said of her son.

Sadly, Snyder never had a chance to sit down at the bar for that drink.

Snyder turned 21 while serving in Afghanistan and was killed seven months later during a mission there.

Three other members of the Army's 76th Infantry Brigade also died March 26 when a land mine exploded under their vehicle. They were scouting for training ground for Afghan Army recruits.

On Saturday, family, friends, community members and veterans gathered outside Legion Post 139 on North Section Street to remember Snyder.

Under a clear blue sky, Snyder's mother and grandmothers grasped hands, walking across the Legion's front lawn. While about 60 people watched, the three women reached down and lifted a black cloth, exposing a monument to the fallen soldier.

The granite footstone - which includes the inscription “Thanks for being our hero” - will remain on the front lawn of the Legion building, under a Bradford pear tree planted in Snyder's honor.

It is the first time Post 139 has recognized a soldier in this way, said Jim Kraemer of the Sullivan American Legion.

“It was more of a personalized service,” since many of the post's veterans watched Snyder grow up, Kraemer said Saturday, sipping a beer and smoking a cigarette as members filled the bar to socialize after the formal program.

The memorial was funded by community members - primarily employees of Sullivan County Community Hospital, Sullivan Fire Department and Sullivan Ambulance Service, said Nichole Webb, an emergency room nurse who has worked with Shots at the hospital.

“Everybody came together,” Webb said, explaining that about $500 in personal donations were raised within days of Snyder's death.

“We waited to place the stone so Donna would know we have not forgotten her loss,” Webb said Saturday, as 18 veterans lined the lawn, holding flags and rifles.

Patrick Scott of Boy Scout Troop 139 hoisted an American flag up a pole, signaling the start of the ceremony. He then lowered the flag to half-staff.

Women dabbed their eyes with tissues as Brian Wilkes read from a poem “Who Comes to Remember”: “It was never a me proposition but/An act of love they bestowed and/ Their names/Are chiseled clearly on these stones/ So the world will always know. Š” Wilkes, a family friend, wrote the poem in Snyder's honor.

At the close of the ceremony, 21 shots echoed from rifles pointed skyward. In the background, a bugle played “Taps.”

Shots said she was grateful for the support the community has given - a sign, she hopes, that her son will be remembered.

Webb vowed that Snyder's sacrifice would not be forgotten.

“He's in our hearts forever,” Webb said.

Karin Grunden can be reached at (812) 231-4257 or karin.grunden@tribstar.com.