Jun 28
Always know which ones are going to be amusing questionnaires on the first page.
Jake McNiece, Cornelius Ryan Collection, OU
seen from Türkiye
seen from China
seen from Türkiye
seen from France
seen from Sweden
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Sweden
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Malaysia
seen from Türkiye
seen from Sweden
seen from Lithuania
seen from Sweden
seen from Australia
seen from China
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Lithuania
seen from Lithuania
seen from Türkiye
Always know which ones are going to be amusing questionnaires on the first page.
Jake McNiece, Cornelius Ryan Collection, OU
The Filthy 13
We were a filthy bunch of people since we were only permitted one bath a week because of the water shortage…and that was set up for Saturday. Come Saturday I wanted to [be] right in the middle of that Red Light District in Piccadilly Circus in London. I did not want to be standing in line waiting for a bath. As soon as me and my boys got passes, each of us would just grab one set of those ODs and put them in a sack and away we went. We would go in our junk clothes into one of those Red Cross buildings over there in Regents Square in London. We would go in and get us a shower, shave, and shine, change clothes and boy, we had one or two women before any of the others even got into town. We would then raise Cain until Monday morning. So they were getting to call us the "Filthy 13." Thirteen men was the number of men in a demolition section.
-Jake McNiece
Jake McNiece (right) and another paratrooper carrying equipment after a drop near Bastogne in 1944. An original member of the Filthy 13, he jumped in with the pathfinders so that vital supply drops could be made to the paratroopers already fighting there.
Image from oklahoman.com
New Post has been published on Apple Photo Book
New Post has been published on http://www.applephotobook.com/the-filthy-thirteen-from-the-dustbowl-to-hitlers-eagles-nest.html
The Filthy Thirteen - From the Dustbowl to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
I read “The Filthy Thirteen – From the Dustbowl to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest: The 101st Airborne’s Most Legendary Squad of Combat Paratroopers” by Richard Killblane and Jake McNiece as research for a project I’m working on, and am glad I did, because I really enjoyed the story. And a story it is, the story of Jake McNeice and his adventures during WWII as he and his fellow paratroopers earned the name “The Filthy Thirteen.” On the cover of the book, it also states, “The True Story of ‘The Dirty Dozen’” and if you get the two disk special edition DVD of the famous movie starring Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, and others, you can see a special featurette on McNiece and the Filthy Thirteen that includes interviews with McNiece and Killblane as well as others. However, the movie and the exploits in this book have nothing similar except both involve WWII and brave men defeating the enemy in the fight against the Germans.
“The Filthy Thirteen” is a researched book, and it contains many notes and a long bibliography, which includes many interviews of me who were actually there. However, the main source was Jake McNiece himself, and that is why he is also considered an author of the book, and the story is actually told in his voice, making the story his. And it is told in story fashion, as if you were sitting with McNiece, having a drink, and listening to old war stories. This makes it a very interesting and enjoyable read, especially for anyone interested in military history. Surviving veterans from the second world war are dwindling each and every year, so it is good that as many of their stories are told as can be while they are still here to tell their tales. I’m glad that Killblane got McNiece’s story, and that of the men who served with him, recorded.
It’s a simple tale about a man who liked to fight. McNiece joined the military to fight, and he wasn’t keen on taking orders, polishing boots, and keeping up appearances. Because of this attitude, and a fondness for drink and trouble, he spent a lot of time being disciplined, but when it really counted, he proved his mettle by doing what he did best, fighting the war. He had four combat jumps during WWII, which not that many paratroopers can claim. He surrounded himself with men that also excelled at fighting, and they happened to earn the name Filthy Thirteen, which referred to the demolition section of the Regimental Headquarters Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry. Nearly thirty men passed through the ranks of this outfit, so there were actually more than thirteen “Filthy 13.”
If you want to read an interesting and entertaining account of this group of men and the important battles they were part of, read this book. Like any story telling around a few drinks, the stories are brash, embellished a bit, and not perfect in telling, but enjoyable. McNiece was lucky at times, and he probably knows it. And there were many men who did what he did, but didn’t have a memorable name attached to them. So when reading his story, remember all those who served.
New Post has been published on Apple Photo Book
New Post has been published on http://www.applephotobook.com/the-filthy-thirteen-from-the-dustbowl-to-hitlers-eagles-nest.html
The Filthy Thirteen - From the Dustbowl to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
I read “The Filthy Thirteen – From the Dustbowl to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest: The 101st Airborne’s Most Legendary Squad of Combat Paratroopers” by Richard Killblane and Jake McNiece as research for a project I’m working on, and am glad I did, because I really enjoyed the story. And a story it is, the story of Jake McNeice and his adventures during WWII as he and his fellow paratroopers earned the name “The Filthy Thirteen.” On the cover of the book, it also states, “The True Story of ‘The Dirty Dozen’” and if you get the two disk special edition DVD of the famous movie starring Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, and others, you can see a special featurette on McNiece and the Filthy Thirteen that includes interviews with McNiece and Killblane as well as others. However, the movie and the exploits in this book have nothing similar except both involve WWII and brave men defeating the enemy in the fight against the Germans.
“The Filthy Thirteen” is a researched book, and it contains many notes and a long bibliography, which includes many interviews of me who were actually there. However, the main source was Jake McNiece himself, and that is why he is also considered an author of the book, and the story is actually told in his voice, making the story his. And it is told in story fashion, as if you were sitting with McNiece, having a drink, and listening to old war stories. This makes it a very interesting and enjoyable read, especially for anyone interested in military history. Surviving veterans from the second world war are dwindling each and every year, so it is good that as many of their stories are told as can be while they are still here to tell their tales. I’m glad that Killblane got McNiece’s story, and that of the men who served with him, recorded.
It’s a simple tale about a man who liked to fight. McNiece joined the military to fight, and he wasn’t keen on taking orders, polishing boots, and keeping up appearances. Because of this attitude, and a fondness for drink and trouble, he spent a lot of time being disciplined, but when it really counted, he proved his mettle by doing what he did best, fighting the war. He had four combat jumps during WWII, which not that many paratroopers can claim. He surrounded himself with men that also excelled at fighting, and they happened to earn the name Filthy Thirteen, which referred to the demolition section of the Regimental Headquarters Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry. Nearly thirty men passed through the ranks of this outfit, so there were actually more than thirteen “Filthy 13.”
If you want to read an interesting and entertaining account of this group of men and the important battles they were part of, read this book. Like any story telling around a few drinks, the stories are brash, embellished a bit, and not perfect in telling, but enjoyable. McNiece was lucky at times, and he probably knows it. And there were many men who did what he did, but didn’t have a memorable name attached to them. So when reading his story, remember all those who served.
New Post has been published on Apple Photo Book
New Post has been published on http://www.applephotobook.com/the-filthy-thirteen-from-the-dustbowl-to-hitlers-eagles-nest.html
The Filthy Thirteen - From the Dustbowl to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
I read “The Filthy Thirteen – From the Dustbowl to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest: The 101st Airborne’s Most Legendary Squad of Combat Paratroopers” by Richard Killblane and Jake McNiece as research for a project I’m working on, and am glad I did, because I really enjoyed the story. And a story it is, the story of Jake McNeice and his adventures during WWII as he and his fellow paratroopers earned the name “The Filthy Thirteen.” On the cover of the book, it also states, “The True Story of ‘The Dirty Dozen’” and if you get the two disk special edition DVD of the famous movie starring Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, and others, you can see a special featurette on McNiece and the Filthy Thirteen that includes interviews with McNiece and Killblane as well as others. However, the movie and the exploits in this book have nothing similar except both involve WWII and brave men defeating the enemy in the fight against the Germans.
“The Filthy Thirteen” is a researched book, and it contains many notes and a long bibliography, which includes many interviews of me who were actually there. However, the main source was Jake McNiece himself, and that is why he is also considered an author of the book, and the story is actually told in his voice, making the story his. And it is told in story fashion, as if you were sitting with McNiece, having a drink, and listening to old war stories. This makes it a very interesting and enjoyable read, especially for anyone interested in military history. Surviving veterans from the second world war are dwindling each and every year, so it is good that as many of their stories are told as can be while they are still here to tell their tales. I’m glad that Killblane got McNiece’s story, and that of the men who served with him, recorded.
It’s a simple tale about a man who liked to fight. McNiece joined the military to fight, and he wasn’t keen on taking orders, polishing boots, and keeping up appearances. Because of this attitude, and a fondness for drink and trouble, he spent a lot of time being disciplined, but when it really counted, he proved his mettle by doing what he did best, fighting the war. He had four combat jumps during WWII, which not that many paratroopers can claim. He surrounded himself with men that also excelled at fighting, and they happened to earn the name Filthy Thirteen, which referred to the demolition section of the Regimental Headquarters Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry. Nearly thirty men passed through the ranks of this outfit, so there were actually more than thirteen “Filthy 13.”
If you want to read an interesting and entertaining account of this group of men and the important battles they were part of, read this book. Like any story telling around a few drinks, the stories are brash, embellished a bit, and not perfect in telling, but enjoyable. McNiece was lucky at times, and he probably knows it. And there were many men who did what he did, but didn’t have a memorable name attached to them. So when reading his story, remember all those who served.