Maloney, Barbara A. Inside the Filthy Thirteen

The Story of Jack Agnew, WWII Combat Paratrooper

In June 1944, a photographer from the newspaper "Stars and Stripes" photographed a group of paratroopers preparing for the invasion of Normandytheir faces covered in war paint, their hair shaved into mohawks. Unknown to the American public, they were already infamous within the 101st Airborne Division, but within the 506th Parachute Regiment, the 1st Explosives Battalionthe "Dirty Thirteen"was notorious. Known for their ferocity and lack of discipline, they constantly got into trouble during training, yet they successfully carried out some of the most dangerous missions of the war in Europe, suffering heavy losses in the process. Jack Agnew, born in Belfast and raised in Philadelphia, was just 19 years old when he volunteered in 1942. He wanted to be a pilot, but lacking the necessary college degree, he joined the paratroopersand jumped out of planes instead of flying them. In Toccoa, his mechanical skills, survival instincts, and marksmanship led to his selection for the demolition squad, which later became the Filthy Thirteen. As a founding member of the unit, Jack, along with Jake McNiece, completed all three combat missions of the Filthy Thirteen. During the landing in Normandy in the early morning hours before the invasion, he dislocated his shoulder but still helped the unit hold the bridges over the Douve River as planned and capture Carentan. In September, Jack parachuted over the Netherlands before volunteering with McNiece for the Pathfinders. Both were part of the 506th Pathfinder Team, which parachuted into the Bastogne Pocket in December to guide supply planes to the correct drop point, ensuring the 101st Airborne Division received vital supplies. The survivors of the Filthy Thirteen stayed together as a unit until the Allies finally conquered Germany. Jack often served in combat as an explosives expert for E Company, the "Band of Brothers," and acted as a scout when they discovered the concentration camp near Landsburgmaking him the first American on the scene. He ended the war in Austria, where he was chosen by Colonel Sink to be his bodyguard. In recent years, books have revealed the truth about the men of the Filthy Thirteen, the unit that inspired the film "The Dirty Dozen." Now, Jack's story can finally be told in its entirety, based on his own records preserved by his family.