Forrest Lane Snelling was born on April 24, 1921 in Indiana. He was the son of Charles Snelling and Lela B. Greenham Snelling. He served in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division as a Sergeant during World War II.

SGT Snelling was a passenger on the C-47A Skytrain Troop Transport #42-100672 "Clay Pigeon" on a paratroop drop mission to Eindhoven, The Netherlands during Operation Market Garden. They carried 18 Paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division. They were attacked by enemy flak and the plane was on fire before reaching the drop zone. They crash landed 6 miles south-east of Eindhoven Air Field. Six of the paratroop passengers were killed in the incident, including SGT Snelling. He is buried now in the River View Cemetery, Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov, www.honorstates.org