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The Filthy Thirteen: From the Dustbowl to Hitler's Eagle's Nest :The True Story of the101st Airborne's Most Legendary Squad of Combat Paratroopers: From ... Most Legendary Squad of Combat Paratroopers
Since World War II, the American public has become fully aware of the exploits of the 101st Airborne Division, the paratroopers who led the Allied invasions into Nazi-held Europe. But within the ranks of the 101st, a subunit attained legendary status at the time, its reputation persisting among veterans over the decades.
Primarily products of the Dustbowl and the Depression, the Filthy13 grew notorious, even within the ranks of the elite 101st. Never ones to salute an officer, or take a bath, this squad became singular within the Screaming Eagles for its hard drinking, and savage fighting skill and that was only in training. Just prior to the invasion of Normandy, a "Stars and Stripes" photographer caught U.S. paratroopers with heads shaved into Mohawks, applying war paint to their faces. Unknown to the American public at the time, these men were the Filthy 13. After parachuting behind enemy lines in the dark hours before D-Day, the Germans got a taste of the reckless courage of this unit except now the men were fighting with Tommy guns and explosives, not just bare knuckles. In its spearhead role, the 13 suffered heavy casualties, some men wounded and others blown to bits. By the end of the war 30 men had passed through the squad.
Throughout the war, however, the heart and soul of the Filthy 13 remained a survivor named Jake McNiece, a half-breed Indian from Oklahoma the toughest man in the squad and the one who formed its character. McNiece made four combat jumps, was in the forefront of every fight in northern Europe, yet somehow never made the rank of PFC. The survivors of the Filthy 13 stayed intact as a unit until the Allies finally conquered Nazi Germany.
The book does not draw a new portrait of earnest citizen soldiers. Instead it describes a group of hardscrabble guys whom any respectable person would be loath to meet in a bar or dark alley. But they were an integral part of the U.S. war against Nazi Germany. A brawling bunch of no-good niks whose only saving grace was that they inflicted more damage on the Germans than on MPs, the English countryside and their own officers, the Filthy 13 remain a legend within the ranks of the 101st Airborne.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Richard Killblane
7 books3 followersRichard E. Killblane was raised in Oklahoma where he came to know Jake McNiece. Richard graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1979 and earned his Master of Arts in history from the University of San Diego in 1992. He served as an officer in the infantry and Special Forces and attained the rank of Captain. He is a veteran of Central American counter-insurgency operations and Operation Just Cause (Panama) He is a published author and currently serves as the Transportation Corps historian.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
March 8, 2021
This is a book I did not enjoy at all, at times it felt like reading an action novel and some of the stories I had the feeling of deja vu as the author seemed to have taken it from other books or television shows. The author seems to be of the rare breed from among the greatest of generations that was not born with humility and takes all the credit for winning the war, all while being a rebel without really getting into trouble. Not recommendable as there are many far better books than this memoir out there.
December 16, 2025
From the horse's mouth you won't always get the best writing style, but Jack McNiece's talent for Tall Tales liven up his antidisciplinarian antics in between the "classic" war stories as a demolition expert in Normandy & an unsung Pathfinder for that first supply drop in Bastogne.
June 5, 2010
Just finished the Filthy Thirteen. This is the true story by Jake McNiece (the founder of the 13), not the completely inaccurate made up "Dirty Dozen" movie portraying them as criminals or even the article written in the Stars and Stripes claiming they were all lawless Indians. (Jake really was the only one with a reckless behavior attitude) Apparently Jake was approached about making a movie and he said no because he didn't want to make money off of his dead buddies, but Hollywood made a movie anyway, that was the Dirty Dozen movie. One of the WWII vets loaned me this book. I think Jake was one of his relatives, but can't remember. Will have to confirm that.
Anyway, for most of the book I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. At first I liked Jake but then grew tired of his rebellious attitude and behavior, I mean from a parent or wife standpoint, who would want their son to participate in such lawless drinking, behavior and attitudes, yet at the same time was always completely amazed at what he did militarily and what he and his men went through and accomplished. The historical information was priceless. However, as I got more towards the end of the book I realized I really did like Jake. I think, unfortunately, that a lot of boys that age get lost in drinking/brawling/ and immoral activities, and war is not a happy place, but Jake was a good leader and by the end of the book I just really liked how he ended up taking control of himself. He really was 100% soldier or warrior, whichever way one wants to look at it. My favorite part was when he agreed to volunteer for the Pathfinders and when the other guys heard they volunteered too. A sign of a good leader if others are going to follow. I wish he was still alive and I wish I could have met him. So ultimately I loved the book, it just took me awhile to process the young man that Jake was as opposed to what he accomplished and became. A stunning story and another reminder of what horrid experiences these men faced and somehow Jake faced it with a great attitude. Apparently the success rate of a paratrooper was only one and a half combat jumps. Jake made 4 total through Normandy, Holland, the Rhine and one more. They had like a 65-70% fatality rate. Ugh! Anyway, if you have not read the book, it's worth picking up. Not stunning writing as the author tried to stay as close to what Jake said, to know the true story from the 101st was amazing. I read all of the notes for each page as well.
Interesting to note that I finished this book just days after the anniversary of D-Day. Those who fought and lived and those who fought and died are all heroes. Thanks for my freedom!
Anyway, for most of the book I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. At first I liked Jake but then grew tired of his rebellious attitude and behavior, I mean from a parent or wife standpoint, who would want their son to participate in such lawless drinking, behavior and attitudes, yet at the same time was always completely amazed at what he did militarily and what he and his men went through and accomplished. The historical information was priceless. However, as I got more towards the end of the book I realized I really did like Jake. I think, unfortunately, that a lot of boys that age get lost in drinking/brawling/ and immoral activities, and war is not a happy place, but Jake was a good leader and by the end of the book I just really liked how he ended up taking control of himself. He really was 100% soldier or warrior, whichever way one wants to look at it. My favorite part was when he agreed to volunteer for the Pathfinders and when the other guys heard they volunteered too. A sign of a good leader if others are going to follow. I wish he was still alive and I wish I could have met him. So ultimately I loved the book, it just took me awhile to process the young man that Jake was as opposed to what he accomplished and became. A stunning story and another reminder of what horrid experiences these men faced and somehow Jake faced it with a great attitude. Apparently the success rate of a paratrooper was only one and a half combat jumps. Jake made 4 total through Normandy, Holland, the Rhine and one more. They had like a 65-70% fatality rate. Ugh! Anyway, if you have not read the book, it's worth picking up. Not stunning writing as the author tried to stay as close to what Jake said, to know the true story from the 101st was amazing. I read all of the notes for each page as well.
Interesting to note that I finished this book just days after the anniversary of D-Day. Those who fought and lived and those who fought and died are all heroes. Thanks for my freedom!
February 10, 2019
Ist person paratroopers narrative.
But so poorly written I couldn't finish it, and I read a lot od WW 2 history. The first quarter of the book is taken up with the troopers infantile frat boy behavior, maybe most of the troops (including my father, a combat marine), did this crap. But is not entertaining.
Jack McNiece is the narrator, an apparently immature vain glorious self obsessed trooper who, according to him, won the war all on hs lonesome. The paratroopers were supposed to be wild Cowboys, but this just was awful, could not relate to these men, maybe they needed this sort of idiot to jump out of planes and assault the enemy.
But I don't have to read it.
But so poorly written I couldn't finish it, and I read a lot od WW 2 history. The first quarter of the book is taken up with the troopers infantile frat boy behavior, maybe most of the troops (including my father, a combat marine), did this crap. But is not entertaining.
Jack McNiece is the narrator, an apparently immature vain glorious self obsessed trooper who, according to him, won the war all on hs lonesome. The paratroopers were supposed to be wild Cowboys, but this just was awful, could not relate to these men, maybe they needed this sort of idiot to jump out of planes and assault the enemy.
But I don't have to read it.
June 6, 2009
I'm not sure where to start, but feel that this book deserves for somebody to write a review, so I will be the first. I actually heard this man speak at my middle school more than a decade ago. His story will make you laugh from the beginning. It's about his experiences in the 101st Airborne in World War II. The man was always up to something whether it be aquiring alcohol, fighting, or just being mischevious. His unit was undisciplined according to military peacetime standards, but they did their job excellently during the war. The Filthy Thirteen was actually the real "Dirty Dozen", although the there are very few similarities between the movie and what really happened. Anybody that loves to read about WWII will love this book, and see it through the eyes of one of the toughest soldiers to make it through the war.
October 27, 2009
Its no secret WWII History related books are my favorite and this book is one of the more fun books I have read about WWII. Written from the perspective of Jake McNiece the boss of the Filthy 13, better known to us later generation as the Dirty dozen, he tells the story like your sitting across from him hearing the old war stories. My only complaint is there isn’t enough of the stories but the book had to end. This book is just plain ol’ good stuff!
September 19, 2023
at its best, it reminds me of the way my grandpa used to tell me his old war stories
September 11, 2018
A true 'character' that ignored the 'spit and polish' of the regular army, took his lumps for doing so, but never was let go because he (along with his team) got the job done. Nothing like the movie "The Dirty Dozen", no Hollywood, rather actual experiences of one of the more colorful soldiers that fought in the ETO during WWII. Great companion book to "Band of Brother" by Stephen Ambrose as a few of the personnel mentioned in one of the books turns up in the other. Great read!
June 7, 2019
My grandfathers buddy. Met him numerous times as I was being taken around to be the showed off grandson.
April 17, 2024
I had a lot of issues with this "memior" of Jake McNiece's...
For one thing, Jake sounds like he was the epitome of a scumbag, and I'd have hated serving alongside him! We'd have fought a few times, for sure. It sounds like he'd have won every fight, but that wouldn't have stopped me from going at him again later if we'd have had another disagreement.
He admits to committing atrocious crimes during the war (and there's a couple more crimes he never admits to, but one can suspect...), rationalizing and justifying them as "circumstances of war" or "war is hell" or some other bullshit like that.
No wonder he found Jesus after the war. He lived most of his life as a piece of shit, and eventually the guilt must have burdened him in his old age.
The author does Jake a favor by essentially splitting this story into two parts;
The first is Jake's side of the story, filled with gaps, vagueness, the wrong names of both people and places, and more than his fair share of outright lies.
While the second, the notes section in the rear, is the actual truth. Facts that the author gathered from credible sources and legitimate military documents.
Was Jake a vital instrument necessary in winning WWII? Oh, I'm positive he was, but that doesn't excuse his robbing, pillaging, blatant disrespect for civilian life, and the plethora of other "crimes" he forgot to mention to his biographer...
No thanks, Jake. Your story ain't for me...
I'll stick with the Cornelius Ryan and Stephen E. Ambrose retellings of history instead.
For one thing, Jake sounds like he was the epitome of a scumbag, and I'd have hated serving alongside him! We'd have fought a few times, for sure. It sounds like he'd have won every fight, but that wouldn't have stopped me from going at him again later if we'd have had another disagreement.
He admits to committing atrocious crimes during the war (and there's a couple more crimes he never admits to, but one can suspect...), rationalizing and justifying them as "circumstances of war" or "war is hell" or some other bullshit like that.
No wonder he found Jesus after the war. He lived most of his life as a piece of shit, and eventually the guilt must have burdened him in his old age.
The author does Jake a favor by essentially splitting this story into two parts;
The first is Jake's side of the story, filled with gaps, vagueness, the wrong names of both people and places, and more than his fair share of outright lies.
While the second, the notes section in the rear, is the actual truth. Facts that the author gathered from credible sources and legitimate military documents.
Was Jake a vital instrument necessary in winning WWII? Oh, I'm positive he was, but that doesn't excuse his robbing, pillaging, blatant disrespect for civilian life, and the plethora of other "crimes" he forgot to mention to his biographer...
No thanks, Jake. Your story ain't for me...
I'll stick with the Cornelius Ryan and Stephen E. Ambrose retellings of history instead.
August 31, 2021
A standalone biographical historical military story revolving around Jake Mcniece. It is the story that inspired The Dirty Dozen which bears little resemblance to the truth.
Others who contributed included Jack Agnew, Herb Pierce, and Virgil Smith with a long list of other contributors at the back. There's also a great list of military books.
You may also want to read Jack Womer's Fighting with the Filthy Thirteen: The World War II Story of Jack Womer — Ranger and Paratrooper .
My Take
They were a small group compared to the entire army, and yet they played such a huge part in the war in this legend about the "smallest unit of reputation shaped around the personality of its founder to come out of the war". It's that same personality that kept Jake a private throughout the war, despite the occasional acting sergeant roles. (Jake keeps saying he never made it above private, but he sure did play acting sergeant frequently and he was separated from the service as a staff sergeant.)
Why haven't we heard more about them? Men of whom we should be so very proud, who should be recognized by all Americans.
Well, quite a bit of this non-recognition probably comes from the military always hushing up their antics. Jake's section was where they all sent the men no one else could handle — they all knew there was no discipline with Jake. Yep, Jake hadn't joined to play "military discipline"; he joined to fight. And these boys were such good fighters that the army couldn't afford to lose them.
The story is primarily told with the writer as a third person objective who switches off into first person plural point-of-view from a number of perspectives with Jake as the primary perspective.
There's an interesting prologue giving background on Jake's childhood which helped enhance and hone his abilities. Some of which included plenty of pranking. That joke later on involving the pinups for family pictures was a crack-up.
We go through training, some of their English hijinks, and then straight into Normandy where we live through an abbreviated version of lost troops, siege, and snipers. The same occurs in Holland and Bastogne, next to the Battle of the Bulge, where Jake's Pathfinders save the 101st.
It's Jake's voice we hear, as though he were telling us these stories just as he and the other survivors told their remembrances at their annual reunions. Jake notes that the Depression had left a lot of men without jobs and the military offered opportunity.
Top Kick sounds like a really decent person, standing up for what's right. One of the very few who earned a soldier's respect.
Oh, yuck. Why wouldn't the tents have some sort of floor? Although, that dirt is what led to the start with the "Dirty Five". As for the food. Hoo, boy. The powers-that-be were aware that strong men, who've been fed decent food, perform better, right? I sure can't blame Jake for setting up Jake's Bar and Grill, lol. I do find it hard to believe Jake had never had a chicken soup made up from the carcass.
Being paratroopers also gave the boys the joys of landing in houses, knocking down chimneys, beehives, snakes, mules, rivers, ditches, trees, and so much more. The sad part of this was how many men didn't make it on a jump. Part of that reality that appears throughout The Filthy Thirteen.
Jake was a very practical thinker, and I particularly enjoyed how this "Dirty" group timed their showers so well, lol. It does seem rather hypocritical to limit showers for the men while Sir Ernest had his six or seven cars washed every day. Hullo. Oh, boy, lol, Browny's comment after the war about Jake's being platoon lawyer was yet another crack-up.
Hmm, a scalp lock to prevent lice from digging in??
Wow, there was a big difference between jumping into Normandy versus Holland. At least all the Dutch were welcoming!
I love that Jake understood the importance of writing to the families of those who died, of connecting to the survivors and/or their families. That these men got together for reunions and talked. Had more reunions as their own group and finally talked about their war experiences, letting the wives in on what they had gone through.
The Story
It was a particularly vicious beating that sent Jake to sign up for the paratroops. A lucky choice as it gave him and his unit so much leeway.
Not interested in military discipline — the saluting, keeping themselves or their quarters neat and tidy, picking up cigarette butts, following orders blindly — Jake and his people were fighters through and through.
In fact, after Normandy, the Germans called paratroopers the "Big Pocket Butchers".
The Characters
Jake McNiece worked as a firefighter, gang pusher, until he joined up with the 506th, the first parachute regiment activated.
Camp Toccoa, Georgia
Jake was put into the demolition platoon of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) as acting staff sergeant for 1st Battalion. Jim Davidson was the sergeant of the 3rd Battalion and Charge of Quarters; William H Leach, a second lieutenant, was the officer of Jake's section; First Lieutenant (Lt) Gene Brown was the platoon leader. Albert H. "Top Kick" Miller was their first sergeant and a great guy. Colonel (Col) Robert Sink is the regimental commander; he was a good fighter who knew tactics and later made two-star general. Lt Col Charles "Uncle Charlie" Chase was the regimental executive officer. Sink and Chase regularly called in Top Kick for advice. Platoon Sergeant (Sgt) Leonard "Truck Horse" Leonitus Johnson was regular army with a speech impediment. Corporal (Corp) Eddy Malas was a by-the-book army man.
This is where the "Dirty Five" began with Charles Lee, Louis "Loulip" Lipp, Martin "Max" Majewski, and Frank M. "Shorty" Mihlan (a drunk who became the alcoholic Sink's orderly). Another group in Jake's platoon were the Warsaw Seven: Edmund Lojko, Frank Palys, "Deacon" Salinas, George Baran, Joe Baranosky, Joe Oparowski, Herbie Pierce , and Joe Oleskiewicz, who was a great soldier. Dirty Johnson was a tough guy. Armando and Mike Marquez were brothers. Lt Sylvester Horner raised Cain about the party.
Captain (Capt) Hank Hannah was the company commander who was later replaced by Lt "Browny" Brown as acting company commander. Arthur "Red Gulch" Hayes. Malcolm Landry was with the communication platoon.
(The Dirty Five and the Warsaw Seven combined to become the 1st Battalion-Saboteur Section of the Demolition Platoon — Jake stayed with that battalion throughout the war.)
Camp Mackall, North Carolina, was . . .
. . . named after John Mackall, the first paratrooper killed in North Africa It was 26 February 1943 when they became part of the 101st Airborne Division.
Second Army Tennessee Maneuvers No 1
Lt Leach eyed a coral snake. Harold Scully had a close encounter with a beehive. Jake went AWOL with Tom Young. Corp Brincely Stroup and Ed Pikering, who was the medic for one operation.
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was . . .
. . . their last stop before England. "Maw" Darnell, a real Georgia cracker, transferred over from a chemical warfare unit. George Underwood and Frank Pellechia were the only two barbers in the company. Lt Charles Mellen, Staff Sgt Earl Boegerhausen, and Platoon Sgt Johnson. Lt Shrable "Willy" Williams. Corp Johnnie "Peepnuts" Hale was a wild man off duty. Three Rangers transferred in: Jack "Hawkeye" Womer, William Myers, and John Klak. Jack Agnew was the best qualified combat man. Robert "Ragsman" Cone was all muscle. George "Googoo" Radeka was dumb at most things but was smart in combat comprehension. Roland "Frenchy" Baribeau. William "Piccadilly Willy" Green was young and slow-thinking, but rolled with the flow. Chuck Plauda was hot-tempered. They all called Jake "McNasty". Capt "Dapper" Daniels eventually transferred to the OSS.
Sir Ernest Wills, Littlecote Manor House, England, was . . .
. . . where Jake and his unit were stationed. Chuck Cunningham seems to have had a mad-on for everyone. John "Dinty" Mohr got into it with Jake one night. Hayford, Steve Kovacs, Milo Kane, Stacey Kinglsey, and John Klack. Lt Gordon Rothwell wasn't happy about Jake beating on a fellow paratrooper. Lt Edward Haley was stationed in another demolition section. Staff Sgt Charles "Chaplain" Williams was assigned to their platoon in the hopes he'd inspire them to clean up. John Dewey.
Chaplain John Maloneuy said Mass just before Normandy.
In the next Quonset hut over, Corp Tom Young, Burl Prickett, and Sgt Myers were determined their section would look great. Kaiser Young was Tom's brother.
Lt Truman Smith was from Jake's hometown. Lt Peter Baranowski's dog jumped with him in Normandy and Holland (but went nuts in Bastogne). General (Gen) Eisenhower and Field Marshal Montgomery. Gen Maxwell Taylor set up the 506th to blow all the bridges. Gen Don F Pratt came into Normandy on a glider holding his jeep . . . and lost his head. Gen Bill Lee was the father of airborne units in America until he became disabled. Col Howard R Johnson was the commander of the 501st. General Higgins joined a number of other generals and colonels on the podium at an award ceremony.
Charles "Trigger" Gann, Clarence Ware, George Baran, and Thomas E "Old Man" Lonegran were added to Jake's unit for the bridges mission. Andrew E "Rasputin" Rasmussen, a T-5 bridgeman, was supposed to be part of it. After the Normandy jump, paratroopers joined up willy nilly including Manual Cockeral, the kid who enlisted along with Jake in Tulsa; Keith Carpenter; and, Capt Tilden McGee, a chaplain. Sgt Bruno Schroeder missed the gathering place. Wilbur Shanklin almost got court-martialed. Burl Prickett, George Smith, James "LaLa" Leach, and Lt Carl Bedient were taken prisoner. Capt Edward Peters took out three tanks.
Back in England
Lt Virgil Smith was another of Jake's homeboys; he became Higgins' aide. Jake's unit's replacements included Manny Freedman, Prvt William Coad, Clarence Furtaw, AJ Bini, Richard "Dick the Raper" Graham, and Paul Zemedia.
"Operation Market Garden" Holland
Gen Miles Dempsey commanded the British Second Army. "Sonny Boy" Browning was the head of all English airborne forces and wanted the glory the 101st and 82nd had achieved. Jerk. Major Brian Urquhart in charge of their British intelligence section told Browning his mission idea wouldn't work. An American, a Tech-5 David Marcus from S-2, was another idiot.
Lefty McGee, another Ponca City homeboy, was shot in the head. Winsor "Ink" Ellefson loved the libraries and museums. Lt Eugene Dance transferred over from the Rangers, but was pretty new to the paratroopers and got Sgts Myers and Davidson killed. Stanley "Speedwack" Spiewack. Bobby Reeves.
Push to the Rhine
Doesn't sound like Dempsey was much of a general. He used paratroopers as shock troops when the rest of his plans showed up as a farce. Brig Gen Jerry Higgins was the American assistant division commander.
C Company of the 506th was the disaster company, losing most of their men with each battle. Lt Albert H Hassenzahl was their only remaining officer. Lt Lucian H Whitehead was assigned to C. Sgt "Guinea" Campiello came in as a replacement after Normandy. Robert Reeves. Nathan "Cigar" Sieger. Pete was a Dutch civilian who joined the paratroopers on the ground and coordinated communications between the British, the Americans, and the Dutch hiding trapped British and Polish troops. Malcolm Landry was a line man.
Mourmelon, France
Corp Frank Kough. Jake joined the Pathfinders, essentially a suicide group, to get a clean record. Majewski, Bill Coad, Corp John Dewey, Pfc Jack Agnew, and Lt Williams joined with him. Others in the Pathfinders included White, Lockland Tillman, Charles Parlow, James Benson, Richard Wright, Irving Shumaker, Sgt John Roseman, Sgt Leroy Shulenberg, Sgt Cleo Merz, Pfc George Slater, and T-5 George Blain, who was a good cook.
Reims, France, was . . .
. . . SHAEF headquarters for Eisenhower that was invaded by the 82nd which resulted in Reims being put off limits to all airborne troops.
9th Troop Carrier Command Pathfinders, Chalgrove, England
Captain Frank L Brown is the company commander of a bunch of goof-offs.
Bastogne Jump and the Battle of the Bulge
What was left of the 28th "Bloody Bucket" Division was stationed at Bastogne. Gen McAuliffe was sent in with the 101st. Lt Col Joel L Crouch and 1st Lt Lionel E Wood flew the Pathfinders in to refit the remaining troops. Young Loui Massen helped the landing paratroopers. Lt-Col James "LaP" LaPrade was the commander of the 1st Battalion. Dr Kurt Yeary, also from Ponca City, was taken prisoner. Maxwell Taylor, the commanding general of the whole corps, reinforced Jake's request to have Browny sent back. Vick Utz, a full-blood German who spoke the language like a native, was an All-American out of Rutgers. He would later marry Dotty and raise four children. A chaplain at the aid station, Capt Maloney, later asked Jake about Utz's watch.
The Prume Jump
Jake had a ten-man team including the whistling Malcolm, Lockland Tillman and George Blain (Jake and these last two had three combat jumps when the average life expectancy of a combat paratrooper was one-and-a-half jumps.)
After the Bulge
William H Leach was promoted to major and he finally decided to lead a patrol, including Frank Pellechia, Alfred Tucker (also in S-2 section), and three others. He got all but Tucker killed.
In on the Practice Jump at Zell-am Zee, Austria, May 1945
Lt Robert Haley, Lt Ed MacMahan, Lt Sterling Horner, Lt Leo Monoghan, Lt John Stegeman, Jake McNiece (Pathfinder), Harold Anderson, Leonard Cardwell, Ed Borey, Stacey Kingsley, and John Dewey (Pathfinder).
Troy Decker, with the communications platoon, had a dog named Mopey, a cocker spaniel. Media Feistower was an Austrian girl Jake dated; her father had been the commander of the Hitler Youth.
CP is a command Post. PFC is a Private First Class. OP is an outpost. A stick is a group of men who jumped out of a plane on one pass.
The Cover and Title
The cover is an old black-and-white photo of Jake putting warpaint on a fellow soldier, both men facing each other and sporting a scalp lock. Irreverent and determined. The top quarter of the cover uses a black background to showcase the two authors' names at the top with a horizontal rule in red separating their names from the title (in red) and the subtitle (in white). A narrow black banner runs the width of the cover just below the man on the right's gloved hand with its story info in red. A red triangle in the lower right corner declares, in white, that this tale is now in paperback.
The title is how the men in Jake's section became The Filthy 13.
Others who contributed included Jack Agnew, Herb Pierce, and Virgil Smith with a long list of other contributors at the back. There's also a great list of military books.
You may also want to read Jack Womer's Fighting with the Filthy Thirteen: The World War II Story of Jack Womer — Ranger and Paratrooper .
My Take
They were a small group compared to the entire army, and yet they played such a huge part in the war in this legend about the "smallest unit of reputation shaped around the personality of its founder to come out of the war". It's that same personality that kept Jake a private throughout the war, despite the occasional acting sergeant roles. (Jake keeps saying he never made it above private, but he sure did play acting sergeant frequently and he was separated from the service as a staff sergeant.)
Why haven't we heard more about them? Men of whom we should be so very proud, who should be recognized by all Americans.
Well, quite a bit of this non-recognition probably comes from the military always hushing up their antics. Jake's section was where they all sent the men no one else could handle — they all knew there was no discipline with Jake. Yep, Jake hadn't joined to play "military discipline"; he joined to fight. And these boys were such good fighters that the army couldn't afford to lose them.
The story is primarily told with the writer as a third person objective who switches off into first person plural point-of-view from a number of perspectives with Jake as the primary perspective.
There's an interesting prologue giving background on Jake's childhood which helped enhance and hone his abilities. Some of which included plenty of pranking. That joke later on involving the pinups for family pictures was a crack-up.
We go through training, some of their English hijinks, and then straight into Normandy where we live through an abbreviated version of lost troops, siege, and snipers. The same occurs in Holland and Bastogne, next to the Battle of the Bulge, where Jake's Pathfinders save the 101st.
It's Jake's voice we hear, as though he were telling us these stories just as he and the other survivors told their remembrances at their annual reunions. Jake notes that the Depression had left a lot of men without jobs and the military offered opportunity.
Top Kick sounds like a really decent person, standing up for what's right. One of the very few who earned a soldier's respect.
Oh, yuck. Why wouldn't the tents have some sort of floor? Although, that dirt is what led to the start with the "Dirty Five". As for the food. Hoo, boy. The powers-that-be were aware that strong men, who've been fed decent food, perform better, right? I sure can't blame Jake for setting up Jake's Bar and Grill, lol. I do find it hard to believe Jake had never had a chicken soup made up from the carcass.
"That barracks of yours smells like a damn hamburger and barbecue joint twenty-four hours a day."It does pay to get in on the ground floor of something. It lets you get away with anything! That "payback" at Fort Bragg for putting the boys on restriction was so dang funny!
Being paratroopers also gave the boys the joys of landing in houses, knocking down chimneys, beehives, snakes, mules, rivers, ditches, trees, and so much more. The sad part of this was how many men didn't make it on a jump. Part of that reality that appears throughout The Filthy Thirteen.
Jake was a very practical thinker, and I particularly enjoyed how this "Dirty" group timed their showers so well, lol. It does seem rather hypocritical to limit showers for the men while Sir Ernest had his six or seven cars washed every day. Hullo. Oh, boy, lol, Browny's comment after the war about Jake's being platoon lawyer was yet another crack-up.
Hmm, a scalp lock to prevent lice from digging in??
Wow, there was a big difference between jumping into Normandy versus Holland. At least all the Dutch were welcoming!
I love that Jake understood the importance of writing to the families of those who died, of connecting to the survivors and/or their families. That these men got together for reunions and talked. Had more reunions as their own group and finally talked about their war experiences, letting the wives in on what they had gone through.
It wasn't a matter of consciously joining the Filthy 13; it was more a matter of "They just came in. I was always the financial advisor. I handled the money and bought the booze. We spent the rest of our time getting ready for the next jump."And as the men constantly defended themselves from how they were depicted in The Dirty Dozen, they nearly all "returned home to lead productive lives . . . [after experiencing] . . . an adventure to last a lifetime".
The Story
It was a particularly vicious beating that sent Jake to sign up for the paratroops. A lucky choice as it gave him and his unit so much leeway.
Not interested in military discipline — the saluting, keeping themselves or their quarters neat and tidy, picking up cigarette butts, following orders blindly — Jake and his people were fighters through and through.
In fact, after Normandy, the Germans called paratroopers the "Big Pocket Butchers".
The Characters
Jake McNiece worked as a firefighter, gang pusher, until he joined up with the 506th, the first parachute regiment activated.
Camp Toccoa, Georgia
Jake was put into the demolition platoon of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) as acting staff sergeant for 1st Battalion. Jim Davidson was the sergeant of the 3rd Battalion and Charge of Quarters; William H Leach, a second lieutenant, was the officer of Jake's section; First Lieutenant (Lt) Gene Brown was the platoon leader. Albert H. "Top Kick" Miller was their first sergeant and a great guy. Colonel (Col) Robert Sink is the regimental commander; he was a good fighter who knew tactics and later made two-star general. Lt Col Charles "Uncle Charlie" Chase was the regimental executive officer. Sink and Chase regularly called in Top Kick for advice. Platoon Sergeant (Sgt) Leonard "Truck Horse" Leonitus Johnson was regular army with a speech impediment. Corporal (Corp) Eddy Malas was a by-the-book army man.
This is where the "Dirty Five" began with Charles Lee, Louis "Loulip" Lipp, Martin "Max" Majewski, and Frank M. "Shorty" Mihlan (a drunk who became the alcoholic Sink's orderly). Another group in Jake's platoon were the Warsaw Seven: Edmund Lojko, Frank Palys, "Deacon" Salinas, George Baran, Joe Baranosky, Joe Oparowski, Herbie Pierce , and Joe Oleskiewicz, who was a great soldier. Dirty Johnson was a tough guy. Armando and Mike Marquez were brothers. Lt Sylvester Horner raised Cain about the party.
Captain (Capt) Hank Hannah was the company commander who was later replaced by Lt "Browny" Brown as acting company commander. Arthur "Red Gulch" Hayes. Malcolm Landry was with the communication platoon.
(The Dirty Five and the Warsaw Seven combined to become the 1st Battalion-Saboteur Section of the Demolition Platoon — Jake stayed with that battalion throughout the war.)
Camp Mackall, North Carolina, was . . .
. . . named after John Mackall, the first paratrooper killed in North Africa It was 26 February 1943 when they became part of the 101st Airborne Division.
Second Army Tennessee Maneuvers No 1
Lt Leach eyed a coral snake. Harold Scully had a close encounter with a beehive. Jake went AWOL with Tom Young. Corp Brincely Stroup and Ed Pikering, who was the medic for one operation.
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was . . .
. . . their last stop before England. "Maw" Darnell, a real Georgia cracker, transferred over from a chemical warfare unit. George Underwood and Frank Pellechia were the only two barbers in the company. Lt Charles Mellen, Staff Sgt Earl Boegerhausen, and Platoon Sgt Johnson. Lt Shrable "Willy" Williams. Corp Johnnie "Peepnuts" Hale was a wild man off duty. Three Rangers transferred in: Jack "Hawkeye" Womer, William Myers, and John Klak. Jack Agnew was the best qualified combat man. Robert "Ragsman" Cone was all muscle. George "Googoo" Radeka was dumb at most things but was smart in combat comprehension. Roland "Frenchy" Baribeau. William "Piccadilly Willy" Green was young and slow-thinking, but rolled with the flow. Chuck Plauda was hot-tempered. They all called Jake "McNasty". Capt "Dapper" Daniels eventually transferred to the OSS.
Sir Ernest Wills, Littlecote Manor House, England, was . . .
. . . where Jake and his unit were stationed. Chuck Cunningham seems to have had a mad-on for everyone. John "Dinty" Mohr got into it with Jake one night. Hayford, Steve Kovacs, Milo Kane, Stacey Kinglsey, and John Klack. Lt Gordon Rothwell wasn't happy about Jake beating on a fellow paratrooper. Lt Edward Haley was stationed in another demolition section. Staff Sgt Charles "Chaplain" Williams was assigned to their platoon in the hopes he'd inspire them to clean up. John Dewey.
Chaplain John Maloneuy said Mass just before Normandy.
In the next Quonset hut over, Corp Tom Young, Burl Prickett, and Sgt Myers were determined their section would look great. Kaiser Young was Tom's brother.
Lt Truman Smith was from Jake's hometown. Lt Peter Baranowski's dog jumped with him in Normandy and Holland (but went nuts in Bastogne). General (Gen) Eisenhower and Field Marshal Montgomery. Gen Maxwell Taylor set up the 506th to blow all the bridges. Gen Don F Pratt came into Normandy on a glider holding his jeep . . . and lost his head. Gen Bill Lee was the father of airborne units in America until he became disabled. Col Howard R Johnson was the commander of the 501st. General Higgins joined a number of other generals and colonels on the podium at an award ceremony.
Charles "Trigger" Gann, Clarence Ware, George Baran, and Thomas E "Old Man" Lonegran were added to Jake's unit for the bridges mission. Andrew E "Rasputin" Rasmussen, a T-5 bridgeman, was supposed to be part of it. After the Normandy jump, paratroopers joined up willy nilly including Manual Cockeral, the kid who enlisted along with Jake in Tulsa; Keith Carpenter; and, Capt Tilden McGee, a chaplain. Sgt Bruno Schroeder missed the gathering place. Wilbur Shanklin almost got court-martialed. Burl Prickett, George Smith, James "LaLa" Leach, and Lt Carl Bedient were taken prisoner. Capt Edward Peters took out three tanks.
Back in England
Lt Virgil Smith was another of Jake's homeboys; he became Higgins' aide. Jake's unit's replacements included Manny Freedman, Prvt William Coad, Clarence Furtaw, AJ Bini, Richard "Dick the Raper" Graham, and Paul Zemedia.
"Operation Market Garden" Holland
Gen Miles Dempsey commanded the British Second Army. "Sonny Boy" Browning was the head of all English airborne forces and wanted the glory the 101st and 82nd had achieved. Jerk. Major Brian Urquhart in charge of their British intelligence section told Browning his mission idea wouldn't work. An American, a Tech-5 David Marcus from S-2, was another idiot.
Lefty McGee, another Ponca City homeboy, was shot in the head. Winsor "Ink" Ellefson loved the libraries and museums. Lt Eugene Dance transferred over from the Rangers, but was pretty new to the paratroopers and got Sgts Myers and Davidson killed. Stanley "Speedwack" Spiewack. Bobby Reeves.
Push to the Rhine
Doesn't sound like Dempsey was much of a general. He used paratroopers as shock troops when the rest of his plans showed up as a farce. Brig Gen Jerry Higgins was the American assistant division commander.
C Company of the 506th was the disaster company, losing most of their men with each battle. Lt Albert H Hassenzahl was their only remaining officer. Lt Lucian H Whitehead was assigned to C. Sgt "Guinea" Campiello came in as a replacement after Normandy. Robert Reeves. Nathan "Cigar" Sieger. Pete was a Dutch civilian who joined the paratroopers on the ground and coordinated communications between the British, the Americans, and the Dutch hiding trapped British and Polish troops. Malcolm Landry was a line man.
Mourmelon, France
Corp Frank Kough. Jake joined the Pathfinders, essentially a suicide group, to get a clean record. Majewski, Bill Coad, Corp John Dewey, Pfc Jack Agnew, and Lt Williams joined with him. Others in the Pathfinders included White, Lockland Tillman, Charles Parlow, James Benson, Richard Wright, Irving Shumaker, Sgt John Roseman, Sgt Leroy Shulenberg, Sgt Cleo Merz, Pfc George Slater, and T-5 George Blain, who was a good cook.
Reims, France, was . . .
. . . SHAEF headquarters for Eisenhower that was invaded by the 82nd which resulted in Reims being put off limits to all airborne troops.
9th Troop Carrier Command Pathfinders, Chalgrove, England
Captain Frank L Brown is the company commander of a bunch of goof-offs.
Bastogne Jump and the Battle of the Bulge
What was left of the 28th "Bloody Bucket" Division was stationed at Bastogne. Gen McAuliffe was sent in with the 101st. Lt Col Joel L Crouch and 1st Lt Lionel E Wood flew the Pathfinders in to refit the remaining troops. Young Loui Massen helped the landing paratroopers. Lt-Col James "LaP" LaPrade was the commander of the 1st Battalion. Dr Kurt Yeary, also from Ponca City, was taken prisoner. Maxwell Taylor, the commanding general of the whole corps, reinforced Jake's request to have Browny sent back. Vick Utz, a full-blood German who spoke the language like a native, was an All-American out of Rutgers. He would later marry Dotty and raise four children. A chaplain at the aid station, Capt Maloney, later asked Jake about Utz's watch.
The Prume Jump
Jake had a ten-man team including the whistling Malcolm, Lockland Tillman and George Blain (Jake and these last two had three combat jumps when the average life expectancy of a combat paratrooper was one-and-a-half jumps.)
After the Bulge
William H Leach was promoted to major and he finally decided to lead a patrol, including Frank Pellechia, Alfred Tucker (also in S-2 section), and three others. He got all but Tucker killed.
In on the Practice Jump at Zell-am Zee, Austria, May 1945
Lt Robert Haley, Lt Ed MacMahan, Lt Sterling Horner, Lt Leo Monoghan, Lt John Stegeman, Jake McNiece (Pathfinder), Harold Anderson, Leonard Cardwell, Ed Borey, Stacey Kingsley, and John Dewey (Pathfinder).
Troy Decker, with the communications platoon, had a dog named Mopey, a cocker spaniel. Media Feistower was an Austrian girl Jake dated; her father had been the commander of the Hitler Youth.
CP is a command Post. PFC is a Private First Class. OP is an outpost. A stick is a group of men who jumped out of a plane on one pass.
The Cover and Title
The cover is an old black-and-white photo of Jake putting warpaint on a fellow soldier, both men facing each other and sporting a scalp lock. Irreverent and determined. The top quarter of the cover uses a black background to showcase the two authors' names at the top with a horizontal rule in red separating their names from the title (in red) and the subtitle (in white). A narrow black banner runs the width of the cover just below the man on the right's gloved hand with its story info in red. A red triangle in the lower right corner declares, in white, that this tale is now in paperback.
The title is how the men in Jake's section became The Filthy 13.
September 10, 2015
Si has leído "Hermanos de sangre" de Stephen Ambrose, igual no te entusiasma demasiado este libro. La de Ambrose es la historia de la compañía E del 506 PIR de la 101 División aerotransportada americana en la SGM, una historia de heroísmo y amistad en una unidad de élite sobre todo. Tan buena, que era perfecta para que Spielberg la convirtiera en una obra maestra de la TV. El libro Killblane habla sobre la élite dentro de esa misma unidad de élite, el equipo de demolición del mismo 506 PIR, que pasaría a la historia por unas imágenes en las que se les ve aplicándose pinturas de guerra antes de saltar sobre Normandía. Pero en realidad no es la historia de un grupo, sino de un hombre, Jake McNiece, el más duro de aquellos tipos a los que uno no querría encontrarse de noche en un callejón oscuro o un bar de copas. La historia de McNiece, aunque tiene elementos de heroísmo y amistad, es más la del líder de ese pequeño grupo de hombres que ganan las guerras asustando tanto al enemigo que es incapaz de descansar por las noches, como los hombres del "Capitán Conan" de Roger Vercel. Y lo que uno descubre al echar una mirada a tales hombres no es tan edificante como la historia de los chicos de la compañía "Easy". Mc Niece, jugador de fútbol de los que ganan de cualquier manera, más tarde bombero y siempre presente en todo tipo de broncas marrulleras y calabozos, es el tipo al que sus superiores le permiten todo porque saben que es la clase de asesino nato que estará en su elemento en lo peor del combate, único soldado de la división incapaz por su indisciplina de ganar los galones de soldado de primera y, sin embargo, sargento interino en la guerra, liderando a sus hombres cuatro saltos de combate, uno de los pocos paracaidistas que los realizó durante la SGM. Al final la historia de Mc Niece es más una de esas en las que las broncas cuarteleras, el calabozo, el alcohol y las mujeres, superan a las escenas de guerra, como los soldados de Dos Passos o de Robert Leckie. Un relato sobre buscavidas que resulta que se encontraban en la guerra como pez en el agua.
June 18, 2021
Hard to believe
The army does not bend or change rules to satisfy someone not liking rules. I only read about 30 pages and had to laugh when this man was given a direct order to fall out for formation and he refused to do it. They would have thrown him out of the army.
I think he is trying to blow smoke up a readers arse and the truth is hidden in the writers imagination. If you want to read junk then this your kind book. To me it is a insult to those of that wore a uniform and served their country.
The army does not bend or change rules to satisfy someone not liking rules. I only read about 30 pages and had to laugh when this man was given a direct order to fall out for formation and he refused to do it. They would have thrown him out of the army.
I think he is trying to blow smoke up a readers arse and the truth is hidden in the writers imagination. If you want to read junk then this your kind book. To me it is a insult to those of that wore a uniform and served their country.
July 5, 2018
This book made my top ten WW2 list. The story of Jake McNiece, a country bumpkinish man with a misbehaving spirit will leave you smiling on so many pages. His journey from D-Day to the Eagles nest is one of triumph over any adversity, and more importantly making the best out of such insane conditions.
May 18, 2021
Don't say I didn't want you.
This book wasn't just bad, it was painfully bad. I was looking for a book that appeared to have just what this advertised. What this was reminded me of sitting in the American Legion where someone would start a story but could never remember exactly how it ended. That is this book.
This book wasn't just bad, it was painfully bad. I was looking for a book that appeared to have just what this advertised. What this was reminded me of sitting in the American Legion where someone would start a story but could never remember exactly how it ended. That is this book.
May 11, 2011
Finished reading the book and found it to be an excellent read. Author doesn't pull any punches
when he talks about the war, or about the trouble
he had once he tried to return to civilian life.
when he talks about the war, or about the trouble
he had once he tried to return to civilian life.
September 4, 2022
Wow. I found myself saying that so many times while reading this book.
I decided to read it because I was in the 101st and the photo of the paratroopers with the Screaming Eagle patches and mohawks getting ready to jump into Normandy is iconic. I had no idea what I was about to get myself into.
Reading this book, which is principally "narrated" by Jake McNiece, who was the leader of the Filthy 13, there were so many times where I was just laughing and amazed at the crazy, wild, and outlandish stuff he did and the unit did. These were a unique bunch of guys. Violent, a bit crazy, but amazing fighters.
I honestly have never had much interest in the history of WW2, because I feel a lot of it has been sanitized and ultimately scrubbed to be good for history books but not the full story. This is the full story. These paratroopers were just getting put through one forge after another, with only some of them surviving. They fought through the German lines and German-held territory time after time. They sat there and survived by the skin of their teeth, through sheer tenacity and will. They stuck together and banded together to get things done and accomplished things that should have been impossible. Lots of them had demons before the war, lots had demons during the war... but fortunately, at least for those who survived, most of them ended up conquering their demons.
This is not sanitized. It isn't some fancy philosophical or objective look at the war. Is the story of the war from men who were the ones fighting it. Anyone who has been in the military, especially combat arms or special forces, will recognize lots of different things from this book and have similar stories to tell (at least those who served between 2002 - 2012). If you have never been in the military, you should read this book. It is not Call of Duty. You don't get to respawn. These guys were so tough, that even if you think you are tough, reading this, you will understand that you probably couldn't measure up to these men if you had to face them in their prime or do what they did right now.
This book gave me MASSIVE respect for the Filthy 13 and paratroopers in general in WW2. I wish that I had learned all of these stories while I was still in the military. Honestly, it would have inspired me to have far more pride and to work way harder, knowing what type of men had built the 101st and 82nd. I laughed reading this, I was amazed reading this, there were times I almost cried reading this. This is a great book. The true story of the Filthy 13 should be made into a movie. Band of Brothers is one thing, this is another. The adventures these men had... are almost impossible to believe. The things they did are unbelievable. I legitimately wish I could travel back into time to see if I could actually hang with these guys and survive... because what they did was legendary and they should be legends and heroes that everyone knows about.
Read this book. Recommend this book to others. You will not regret it.
I decided to read it because I was in the 101st and the photo of the paratroopers with the Screaming Eagle patches and mohawks getting ready to jump into Normandy is iconic. I had no idea what I was about to get myself into.
Reading this book, which is principally "narrated" by Jake McNiece, who was the leader of the Filthy 13, there were so many times where I was just laughing and amazed at the crazy, wild, and outlandish stuff he did and the unit did. These were a unique bunch of guys. Violent, a bit crazy, but amazing fighters.
I honestly have never had much interest in the history of WW2, because I feel a lot of it has been sanitized and ultimately scrubbed to be good for history books but not the full story. This is the full story. These paratroopers were just getting put through one forge after another, with only some of them surviving. They fought through the German lines and German-held territory time after time. They sat there and survived by the skin of their teeth, through sheer tenacity and will. They stuck together and banded together to get things done and accomplished things that should have been impossible. Lots of them had demons before the war, lots had demons during the war... but fortunately, at least for those who survived, most of them ended up conquering their demons.
This is not sanitized. It isn't some fancy philosophical or objective look at the war. Is the story of the war from men who were the ones fighting it. Anyone who has been in the military, especially combat arms or special forces, will recognize lots of different things from this book and have similar stories to tell (at least those who served between 2002 - 2012). If you have never been in the military, you should read this book. It is not Call of Duty. You don't get to respawn. These guys were so tough, that even if you think you are tough, reading this, you will understand that you probably couldn't measure up to these men if you had to face them in their prime or do what they did right now.
This book gave me MASSIVE respect for the Filthy 13 and paratroopers in general in WW2. I wish that I had learned all of these stories while I was still in the military. Honestly, it would have inspired me to have far more pride and to work way harder, knowing what type of men had built the 101st and 82nd. I laughed reading this, I was amazed reading this, there were times I almost cried reading this. This is a great book. The true story of the Filthy 13 should be made into a movie. Band of Brothers is one thing, this is another. The adventures these men had... are almost impossible to believe. The things they did are unbelievable. I legitimately wish I could travel back into time to see if I could actually hang with these guys and survive... because what they did was legendary and they should be legends and heroes that everyone knows about.
Read this book. Recommend this book to others. You will not regret it.
February 22, 2023
First off, there are complaints that the book's narrator, Jake McNiece, would have been drummed out of the Army at the first sign of his (by everyone's accounts, many) insubordinations. The fact that he wasn't can be explained in a number of ways; we were at war and needed men, and lower echelon leaders tended to look the other way on infractions as men of McNiece's type were the ones who went out and got the job done, and a lot of the time, never came back. Author Killblane, who must have had a great time interviewing McNiece, even deals with this in the closing pages of the book. Read to the end, folks.
That said, I found this a great read for a number of reasons. Killblane presents this in McNiece's voice, and it's like sitting across the table from the man listening to him talk. Killblane also corrects any inaccuracies in McNiece's recollections by cross referencing with other interviews and previously published works.
Another reason that makes this a valuable book - it provides an excellent insight into the lives of our citizen soldiers. I've often heard of war described as long stretches of boredom, interrupted on occasion by moments of sheer terror. McNiece's recollections don't shy away from the boredom, which more often not led to the kind of hijinks that prevented the man from even making Private First Class during the war ().
That said, when the time came to take action, McNeice and his crew knuckled down and got the job done - and those stories are told here too. It's great to have those now for posterity's sake, as members of the WWII generation are becoming scarcer each year.
Finally, yes, the exploits of the Filthy Thirteen were the inspiration for the film The Dirty Dozen - but the resemblance ends with the similarity in the names. McNiece refused to be involved with the Hollywood production, feeling it was too close to the war's end to celebrate, and not interested in what he called "blood money." So the Oklahoma farm boy and Citizen Soldier cohorts were Hollywoodized into a gang of bloodthirsty criminals seeking redemption, and the rest is cinematic history.
But it's still not as exciting as the true story.
That said, I found this a great read for a number of reasons. Killblane presents this in McNiece's voice, and it's like sitting across the table from the man listening to him talk. Killblane also corrects any inaccuracies in McNiece's recollections by cross referencing with other interviews and previously published works.
Another reason that makes this a valuable book - it provides an excellent insight into the lives of our citizen soldiers. I've often heard of war described as long stretches of boredom, interrupted on occasion by moments of sheer terror. McNiece's recollections don't shy away from the boredom, which more often not led to the kind of hijinks that prevented the man from even making Private First Class during the war ().
That said, when the time came to take action, McNeice and his crew knuckled down and got the job done - and those stories are told here too. It's great to have those now for posterity's sake, as members of the WWII generation are becoming scarcer each year.
Finally, yes, the exploits of the Filthy Thirteen were the inspiration for the film The Dirty Dozen - but the resemblance ends with the similarity in the names. McNiece refused to be involved with the Hollywood production, feeling it was too close to the war's end to celebrate, and not interested in what he called "blood money." So the Oklahoma farm boy and Citizen Soldier cohorts were Hollywoodized into a gang of bloodthirsty criminals seeking redemption, and the rest is cinematic history.
But it's still not as exciting as the true story.
January 17, 2026
The book and film titled “The Dirty Dozen” is fiction based on a group of men who came on the scene in 1942, during WWII. The group came into being when certain soldiers drank heavily, went AWOL (Absent Without Leave) nearly every weekend, and had fistfights frequently; it seems Jake loved a good fight and defied all attempts at discipline. The group coalesced under the command of one Private E-1, Jake McNiece. Why the US Army didn’t court-martial these losers is explained in the book. These men were fearless fighters – they were Special Ops before that sobriquet became standard. Jake McNiece was never promoted in his 4 years as a decorated combat fighter. ALL his soldiers – and he was clearly in charge – outranked him. Even officers would listen to him – or he would ignore their orders and demands and do as he pleased. He never saluted an officer; he would drink heavily during combat operations. He and his men would steal food from the officers’ mess, among any other petty crime imaginable. But he would do everything in his power to protect his men. Most of the fatalities occurred during paratroop drops. Despite his efforts to save his men, he did manage to survive the war. Only four of the original 13 survived. The Germans suffered greatly when Jake was in their vicinity.
Jake McNiece was born and raised in hard-scrabble Oklahoma, from a white father and a Choctaw Native American mother.
This picture shows McNiece, on the right, applying war paint to one of his men. Even though he was assigned a Sergeant’s stripes, he never rose above the rank of Private.
Jake McNiece was born and raised in hard-scrabble Oklahoma, from a white father and a Choctaw Native American mother.
This picture shows McNiece, on the right, applying war paint to one of his men. Even though he was assigned a Sergeant’s stripes, he never rose above the rank of Private.
September 18, 2026
Honestly don’t remember what year I read it, but the author’s stark honesty about his own moral failings was unforgettable. It also made for a difficult read until the end, where it was obvious that he’d experienced a rebirth. The fact that he was good at his tradecraft didn’t really make up for the fact that he was completely indifferent to punishment inflicted because he was insubordinate.
And yet, it sounds like the leaders with titles were either incompetent or didn’t have a will to win (that’s not something lacking in the author) - so I can empathize with him for disrespecting their authority. They weren’t winning and he was, and they couldn’t scare up men to follow them because they were trying too hard to win the favor of their superiors…and he had men lining up to follow because he wanted to get the job done that he was supposed to get done. It didn’t help that he knew his chances of survival were very slim. That tends to put men’s egos into proper proportion.
I’m glad he also led the charge for putting together a reunion, so men who couldn’t or wouldn’t talk about their war experiences had space to do so. It’s stupid for a fat lazy society to sit in their easy chairs and carp about how war isn’t necessary, when they would be the first to call the cops about a violation of their peace and safety, and complain when no one answers.
Not sure I’d read it again, but it was a no-holds-barred kind of story, and the invasion of the Eagle’s Nest was fascinating.
And yet, it sounds like the leaders with titles were either incompetent or didn’t have a will to win (that’s not something lacking in the author) - so I can empathize with him for disrespecting their authority. They weren’t winning and he was, and they couldn’t scare up men to follow them because they were trying too hard to win the favor of their superiors…and he had men lining up to follow because he wanted to get the job done that he was supposed to get done. It didn’t help that he knew his chances of survival were very slim. That tends to put men’s egos into proper proportion.
I’m glad he also led the charge for putting together a reunion, so men who couldn’t or wouldn’t talk about their war experiences had space to do so. It’s stupid for a fat lazy society to sit in their easy chairs and carp about how war isn’t necessary, when they would be the first to call the cops about a violation of their peace and safety, and complain when no one answers.
Not sure I’d read it again, but it was a no-holds-barred kind of story, and the invasion of the Eagle’s Nest was fascinating.
July 2, 2018
Desde luego no voy a ser yo el que le quite méritos, como documento histórico, a este libro. El relato, coral y por lo tanto más próximo a la verdad, de ciertos acontecimientos de la II Guerra Mundial, por personas que los vivieron directamente, no deja de ser algo de gran valor. Quitando, eso sí, las opiniones subjetivas (como la incapacidad de los ingleses). No porque no sean ciertas, si no porque no es algo fácil de comprobar.
Después de este inciso, decir que el protagonista de este libro, Jake McNiece, aquí tratado más o menos como un héroe, es un sociópata de tomo y lomo. Un tipo, que antes de irse a la guerra, su máxima diversión era partirse la cara (literalmente) con el primero que le mirase mal. Así, tal cual. Yo me he quedado asombrado al leer la juventud de este hombre, que te podía dejar paralítico porque se aburría.
Esa actitud debió ser lo que le valió para ser un soldado tan valioso a la hora de luchar, cuerpo a cuerpo, en el desembarco de Normandía.
En general, el libro me ha parecido un compendio de batallitas contadas sin censura, pero también sin pizca de remordimiento, autocensura o lo que el cuerpo te pida, para regocijo del público predispuesto a escuchar.
Y ahora os dejo, que tengo que dar un buen susto a una fila de alemanes muertos de miedo en una trinchera.
Después de este inciso, decir que el protagonista de este libro, Jake McNiece, aquí tratado más o menos como un héroe, es un sociópata de tomo y lomo. Un tipo, que antes de irse a la guerra, su máxima diversión era partirse la cara (literalmente) con el primero que le mirase mal. Así, tal cual. Yo me he quedado asombrado al leer la juventud de este hombre, que te podía dejar paralítico porque se aburría.
Esa actitud debió ser lo que le valió para ser un soldado tan valioso a la hora de luchar, cuerpo a cuerpo, en el desembarco de Normandía.
En general, el libro me ha parecido un compendio de batallitas contadas sin censura, pero también sin pizca de remordimiento, autocensura o lo que el cuerpo te pida, para regocijo del público predispuesto a escuchar.
Y ahora os dejo, que tengo que dar un buen susto a una fila de alemanes muertos de miedo en una trinchera.
August 16, 2020
What a great story. This is how oral history can be converted into a written conversation and story. Thousands of years ago, the storytellers of each tribe (medicine men??) were special. They are considered to be important people because they passed on the knowledge of their tribe or peoples. That's what this is. I knew a very little bit of this story, but not enough to make it flow. Mr. Killblane writes the oral history for Jake McNiece, our main character. There are other American soldier's written and oral testimony used to fill in gaps or to add flavor to this wonderous story. WWII European battles told from Jake McNiece's oral history.
If you ever saw the 1967 movie with Lee Marvin called the Dirty Dozen.....well you have seen an fictionalized version of what the true Filthy Thirteen really did. They accomplished much, much more than the Dirty Dozen.....and what they did was all truly captured for you to read. So pick up this book. Read about some true American heroes you never even knew about.
If you ever saw the 1967 movie with Lee Marvin called the Dirty Dozen.....well you have seen an fictionalized version of what the true Filthy Thirteen really did. They accomplished much, much more than the Dirty Dozen.....and what they did was all truly captured for you to read. So pick up this book. Read about some true American heroes you never even knew about.
October 23, 2019
This is supposed to be the true story of the Dirty Dozen, and there is no doubt that Jake McNiece's participation in WWII is worthy of a movie. I'm just not sure what kind of movie. McNiece even in his own words was a piece of work, an unapologetic subversive in an army he had little time for when it came to GI bullshit, but also a stone-cold killer when it came to fighting Germans. McNiece weaves an interesting narrative and no doubt did heroic things. He is also a liar, a self-promoter, and an expert in self-justification for actions that surely got other men killed. It is instructive that Killblane opted for endnotes rather than footnotes because they very often undermine McNiece's recollections. It is for that attentiveness on Killblane's part that makes me rate this higher than I otherwise would, if it was just the raw, mostly unreliable, story then this would not merit over 5. (7/10)
October 27, 2021
I couldn't finish this: told almost entirely in the voice of the main actor, it's unreadable because of his obnoxious personality. What he did in the war cannot compensate for his attitude--he sees himself as far superior to everyone else, but what he tells of himself reveals him to be an ignorant egotist. I really don't care how many times he got drunk and beat someone up in training camp; I don't need his endless preening over how he sure did tell off that there officer and set him straight.....The editor thinks this guy is a great storyteller--in contrast, I actually encountered someone who managed to make learning about WW2 boring.
January 18, 2023
It was okay. Felt like a long slog. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. I tried reading it over the course of a year and a half and then decided that I needed to finish it, so I pushed myself to read it on two plane rides.
Was it bad? No. Was it good? I mean, it could have been better. I'm not sure if it was the narration style that I didn't like or what.
Maybe for someone else, it might be good.
(I'm wondering if the book was dictated and then rewritten or just straight up dictated and copied as is to preserve the original narration style)
Was it bad? No. Was it good? I mean, it could have been better. I'm not sure if it was the narration style that I didn't like or what.
Maybe for someone else, it might be good.
(I'm wondering if the book was dictated and then rewritten or just straight up dictated and copied as is to preserve the original narration style)
May 2, 2018
Interesante historia de como algo tan elemental se puede volver un mito... a veces necesario. Pero más allá de eso, destaco otro de los elementos que me atraen tanto de la historia bélica del siglo XX, y en especial de la Segunda Guerra Mundial: hombres comunes que ante las circunstancias más dificiles salen adelante buscando solo sobrevivir pero siempre siendo fieles a su escala de valores (cuestionables o no).
August 29, 2023
Loves tooting his own horn
As far as I'm concerned this book was all about him and how much he beat up this person or did what he wanted but as soon as someone else did what they wanted he dobbed them in and bragged about it, burns down a hospital and brags about it, war is ugly and you need people who are ugly to fight it, then after it's done you find god and all is forgiven, if you like a good yarn then read this book, I've read better though.
As far as I'm concerned this book was all about him and how much he beat up this person or did what he wanted but as soon as someone else did what they wanted he dobbed them in and bragged about it, burns down a hospital and brags about it, war is ugly and you need people who are ugly to fight it, then after it's done you find god and all is forgiven, if you like a good yarn then read this book, I've read better though.
December 18, 2020
A story about an inordinate immature person who should have spent the war in a stockade. I found his continuous lack of respect for anyone other than himself to be a mark of a very disturbed individual.
A story about an insubordinate and immature person who should have spent the war in a stockade rather than continually showing contempt for authority.
A story about an insubordinate and immature person who should have spent the war in a stockade rather than continually showing contempt for authority.
February 7, 2022
This is a book badly in need of a ghost writer, a fact checker and an editor!
The paratrooper units in the military are truly impressive; they are well trained, hard working, courageous and heroic.
This book portrays them as a bunch of drunken, undisciplined teenagers in a never ending fist fight.
The paratrooper units in the military are truly impressive; they are well trained, hard working, courageous and heroic.
This book portrays them as a bunch of drunken, undisciplined teenagers in a never ending fist fight.
August 10, 2023
Overall a good book with the first hand accounts of Jake McNiece and the “Filthy Thirteen”. The book was made up of small stories formed in a time line from boot camp all the way to the end of World War Two and beyond. I found my self laughing along with many of the stories. I would take the book a 4.5, but definitely worth a read.
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