Major General Howard McCrum Snyder (February 7, 1881 – September 22, 1970) was a member of the

United States Army Medical Corps The Medical Corps (MC) of the U.S. Army is a staff corps (non-combat specialty branch) of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an M.D. or a D.O. degree, at least one ...

, and

Physician to the President The physician to the president is the formal and official title of the physician who is chosen by the president to be his personal physician. Often, the physician to the president also serves as the director of the White House Medical Unit, a u ...

for

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

Biography

Early life

General Snyder was born in

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

, Wyoming. He was the son Albert Snyder and Priscilla McCrum. His father died when he was ten years old. He attended the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

from 1899-1901. Snyder then attended

Jefferson Medical College Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the unive ...

and received his M.D. in 1905. He completed his medical internship at Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia. He became a contract surgeon at

Fort Douglas Camp Douglas was established in October 1862, during the American Civil War, as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, to protect the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. I ...

, Utah. His experience with military service was so favorable that he decided upon a military-medical career. He graduated from the U.S. Army Medical School in Washington, D.C. in June 1908 with high honors and was simultaneously commissioned a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in the

. In 1909, Snyder’s first military assignment took him to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

where he served with the Research Board of Tropical Medicine. While in the Philippines he met he met Alice Elizabeth Concklin. They married July 12, 1910.

Career

In 1911 he returned to the United States and, in the next twenty-five years, his varied command and instructional assignments took him to numerous posts in the United States and one in Puerto Rico. From 1936 to 1940 Snyder was medical adviser to the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C. From December 1940 until June 1945 Snyder was assistant to the inspector general of the War Department, a job which required him to travel to all theaters of operations during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Toward the end of the war Snyder became closely acquainted with Dwight D. Eisenhower and, although technically retired because of his age in March 1945, remained on active duty in Europe as General Eisenhower’s personal physician until after the surrender of Germany. Snyder continued his association with the Eisenhower family after the war, treating

Mamie Eisenhower Mary Geneva "Mamie" Eisenhower (; November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was the first lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 as the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Born in Boone, Iowa, she was raised in a wealthy household i ...

for pneumonia in November 1945 and, after retiring from military service, remaining close to Dwight D. Eisenhower while he was president of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Snyder became senior adviser to the Conservation of Human Resources Project and Manpower Council, a project instituted by Eisenhower in 1950 to find ways of correcting the manpower wastage identified during World War II. In January 1951 Snyder was again called to active duty and was assigned to Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers, Europe (

SHAPE A shape or figure is a graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, texture, or material type. A plane shape or plane figure is constrained to lie ...

) where he soon became a special adviser to General Eisenhower. After being retired from military service once again, Snyder rode Eisenhower's campaign train in September 1952 during Eisenhower's successful bid for the presidency.

Physician to the President

After Eisenhower’s inauguration as President in January 1953, Snyder was appointed to the White House staff as the

, and remained Eisenhower's personal physician throughout the administration. Snyder’s duties in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

involved providing close personal attention to the medical needs of Eisenhower and his family, as well as the White House staff. This personal attention included accompanying the president on overseas trips and those within the United States, vacations, and golf outings. He administered medications, took temperatures, gave the president daily medical advice and recorded observations on the president’s activities, disposition, and physical condition. Snyder rendered initial treatment to Dwight Eisenhower when the president suffered a heart attack in September 1955 and was at the President's side during his

ileitis Ileitis is an inflammation of the ileum, a portion of the small intestine. Crohn's ileitis is a type of Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. ...

operation in June 1956. He died in Washington DC at Walter Reed hospital on September 22, 1970.

References

External links

Papers of Howard McCrum Snyder, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, Howard Mccrum 1881 births 1970 deaths People from Cheyenne, Wyoming Military personnel from Wyoming American surgeons Eisenhower administration personnel Physicians from Wyoming Physicians to the President United States Army generals United States Army Medical Corps officers United States Army generals of World War II