American Notes Nuptials

Staff Sergeant Robert Snow of Southington, Conn., gave quite a bit in Operation Desert Storm. A land-mine explosion left him with a shattered left arm, a broken leg and a collapsed lung. Last week Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S., gave quite a bit in return: $100,000, as a wedding gift to Snow and his bride Karin Pajor.

The prince first heard of Snow in March at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where Bandar was being treated for back problems while Snow was recovering from one of more than 12 operations. When the prince was told of Snow's condition, he tried to visit the soldier but was told he was too badly injured, and so sent flowers instead. They later met in the hospital and remained in touch by letter over the past nine months. When Snow and Pajor invited the prince to their wedding, he accepted. "The human touch is the most important to me," he says. "We get so caught up in heavier issues."