Question
After one year In the ground, snow broke the tops of a row of trees.  Now the bottom 2/3 of each tree has full branches while there is  a tall long dead-looking center branch.  This part of the tree is about 2-3 feet.  I want these trees to grow tall; I know that cutting the main upward branch will prevent this; and these trees are looking really badly.  What do I do?

Answer
Go ahead and cut the dead branches off. Over time one of the side branches will become the new top leader. This may take a couple of growing seasons but these young trees will recover quite fast. As long as you do not prune the top each year the tree will grow tall. Since they are young I think they will be fine.