DECEMBER 15, 2007

LEESBURG, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) – After 63 years of fighting the Army, Samuel Snow finally got his check this past November.

The check for back pay for his service in World War II: A measly $725.

In 1944, Snow and twenty-seven other black soldiers were convicted and dishonorably discharged in connection with a melee that resulted in the lynching of an Italian prisoner of war.

Snow said he wasn’t involved at all. And in late October, the Army’s Board of Corrections of Military records agreed and granted a petition by him and three other families to overturn the convictions. The decision to do so, due to an unfair trial, made the 83-year-old Leesburg resident eligible for all back pay.

The check finally arrived in November; but the amount has angered many including Snow.

“I’ve lived a good life,” Snow who is the father of three children said. “I think I’ve done great, but I think I would have done better if I wouldn’t have been handicapped by the US Army.”

Florida Senator Bill Nelson is also upset and plans on doing something to correct the injustice.

“Think about it,” Nelson said “We wrongly convict someone, lock him up, deny him a career in the military – and, 63 years later try to fix it by paying him 725 bucks?”

Nelson has asked the Secretary of the Army to revise the military decision and adjust. Snow’s 1944 pay upward for inflation.

If the Army czar agrees, the $725 could increase to at least $8,600 for pay Snow lost during the months he spent in prison for conviction that was eventually overturned

In his letter to the Army Secretary, Nelson said he felt there was sufficient discretionary authority for him to revisit the case and allow a greater payment.

“It’s intolerable if we compound an injustice with an unfair remedy,” Nelson said.

Snow just wants what he feels is coming to him.

“I think the Army owes me that,” he said.

Besides Snow, at least two of the other 28 soldiers involved reportedly are still alive.