The bond of brothers

Elia Powers

For brothers Andy and Joey Snelgrove, milestones seem to come in

pairs.

Four years ago, Joey Snelgrove graduated from Newport Harbor High

School and Andy Snelgrove earned his degree from the U.S. Military

Academy at West Point.

Fast forward to May.

Joey Snelgrove, 22, received his diploma from the U.S. Naval

Academy, just as Andy Snelgrove was finishing his stint in the Army.

Dressed in full military regalia, Andy Snelgrove flew from

Germany, where he had been stationed, to his younger brother’s

ceremony in Annapolis, Md.

Andy Snelgrove, an Army captain, pinned a shoulder board on Joey

Snelgrove’s jacket, signifying his earning the rank of ensign.

“It was a very cool moment,” 28-year-old Andy Snelgrove said.

“It’s an honor to pin your own brother.”

IN FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS

Though the young men are separated by six years and have been

living on different continents, they are bound by a sense of pride in

serving their country.

Their father, John Snelgrove, set the tone in the late 1960s,

serving for four years in the United States Air Force.

When Andy Snelgrove graduated from Newport Harbor High School in

1995, John Snelgrove said he encouraged his son to enter a military

academy, largely for financial reasons.

Andy Snelgrove took the advice, spending two years in flight

training at Fort Rucker military base in Alabama, where he learned to

fly an Apache attack helicopter.

Andy Snelgrove was in flight school on Sept. 11, 2001, when the

facility was put on high-security watch. Joey Snelgrove was just one

month into classes at the Naval Academy. His school was shut down.

They said it was a defining day in their lives.

“It became apparent that I was going to use my Apache training,”

Andy Snelgrove said.

Added Joey Snelgrove: “It solidified what I wanted to do and

motivated me to continue to work toward earning my diploma.”

John Snelgrove, who served in the Vietnam War, said he wasn’t

overly concerned about his sons’ safety.

“At first, I thought, ‘What did I get them into?’” he said. “But

I’d been there, and I didn’t have a fear of them being hurt.”

Andy Snelgrove began his tour of duty in Katterbach, Germany. In

February 2004, he and fellow members of the 1st Battalion, 1st

Infantry Division were deployed in Iraq.

Much of his time was spent supervising helicopter maintenance

projects. He also flew security patrols in an area outside Tikrit.

“It was a great leadership experience -- a true, real-world

mission,” Andy Snelgrove said.

Truck bombs went off below him, and his base was the site of a

mortar attack. Two of his friends from the U.S. Military Academy were

killed while serving in Iraq. But Andy Snelgrove said he never

witnessed major injuries in his infantry.

A RARE VISIT

Threats of violence haven’t stopped Joey Snelgrove from continuing

on his path to becoming a Navy SEAL.

After graduation last month, he traveled with Naval Academy

friends to Nicaragua, where they built homes for the poor.

“It was a way to get an idea of how the people down there live,”

Joey Snelgrove said.

He is now in Alaska on a four-week outdoor training program that

is run in conjunction with the Naval Academy. He said it could take

more than two years for him to become a SEAL.

Last winter, during a break from school, Joey Snelgrove visited

his brother in Germany while Andy Snelgrove was still on active duty.

For the two brothers, both Newport Beach lifeguards and high school

athletes, it was a chance to reconnect.

Andy Snelgrove has returned to Newport Beach and is planning to

enter real estate or land development.

It’s a rare occurrence when the Snelgrove family is together.

A month after congregating in Annapolis, they were back in Newport

Beach in late June to celebrate another feat: the graduation of

18-year-old Mary Ellen Snelgrove from Newport Harbor High School.

After hearing President Bush speak at his ceremony, Joey Snelgrove

said his sister’s graduation was a bit anticlimactic.

Still, for John Snelgrove, the event served a distinct purpose.

“You appreciate your family more when your children leave,” he

said. “It’s good to be back together.”

* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at

elia.powers@latimes.com.