The Filthy Thirteen: From the Dustbowl to Hitler's Eagle's Nest - The True Story of the 101st Airborne's Most Legendary Squad of Combat Paratroopers [Paperback]

Richard Killblane (Author), Jake McNiece (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2003

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 sub-unit attained legendary status at the time, its reputation persisting among veterans over the decades. Primarily products of the Dustbowl and the Depression, the Filthy 13 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. Over 20,000 copiessold of the hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 289 pages
• Publisher: Casemate Publishers and Book Distributors; First Edition edition (January 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932033467
• ISBN-13: 978-1932033465
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #422,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jake McNiece, January 29, 2005

By 

Daniel Kemp "gun-toting book junkie" (Fort Campbell, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 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 (Hardcover)

is one of the genuine crazies in the 101st Airborne's family tree. I met him at the Toccoa, GA, reunion of the 506th PIR after I came back from Iraq and he was happy to sign my copy. Yes, the writing is crude, yes, Jake loves to tell a good story, but if you want a dry day by day account of the 506th's doings, sit down with Rendezvous with Destiny instead. One, Bob Sink wasn't quite as stuck-up as Dale Dye played him, and second, why do you think Jake never got promoted and spent half his time at Toccoa in the stockade? There's a reason the pic of the old stockade there at the camp is captioned "Jake McNiece's command post" in the county historical society literature, his antics have been a running joke in Division circles since 1943.

I think it was the pics of the Mohawked, face-painted guys with the Thompsons when I was a real little kid that got me started on all this in the first place. Now I know the story behind it all, and I'm glad I met a genuine hero of an earlier time.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, and disturbing account of WWII, June 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: 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 (Hardcover)

Being a big fan of the movie The Dirty Dozen, and a WWII buff to boot, I could not wait to read this book. It took me just three days to finish it because once you begin, you cannot put it down.

Jake McNiece, the leading member of the Filthy 13, tells the tale in a folksy, homespun way, but does not pull any punches about his antics, behavior, or just what a bad dude he was in his early 20s. This guy drank, stole, assulted, and offended his way through early life. He was just plain mean--with a kind streak that shows up from time to time. And hilarious. His sense of humor will have your belly-laughing out loud.

The early chapters about training, etc. are great because you meet all the other characters in the book--and there are lots of them to meet. The end notes are great because they expound further on the men and their fate. The book really picks up when the guys cut their hair, paint their faces, and load up for the trip to Normandy. Prepare to not eat for hours at a stretch because you can't put the damn book down.

The details of war are horrific, and McNiece pulls no punches. He talks about men jumping from plains and being sucked into propellers, guys getting their heads blown off, and just what it was like to kill the enemy up close and personal. I hope the statute of limitations for murder has passed, because he tells in gruesome detail how he and another guy killed wounded Germans. Sure it was war, and of course they did it to us, but all the same, it is disturbing.

Jake's handling of his relationship with the men is wonderfully told. He saved many lives and lost lots of friends. What I especially enjoyed was that the other author who helped McNiece pen the book interviewed lots of 101st Airborne guys, and they confirmed and expounded on Jake's stories. The gallow's humor that runs throughout will make you cringe, like digging through the dead's boots for coffee, standing up corpses in doorways, etc.

After Normandy, he jumped into Holland in Market Garden, then Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge, and then along the Rhine. The Holland chapter was exceptionally amazing. They were in combat for almost 80 days, and many of the men you have come to meet in the book are killed there.

Ultimately, this book made me shed a tear. The final reunion scene 50 years later is heartbreaking when you think of the young strapping guys who saved the world against Nazism as old men on canes barely able to walk.

This is a must read, and I think will be one of those classics that will stand the test of time.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No men are Saints, angels with vice, January 31, 2006

By 

harald versteegden "Harry V." (Zeewolde, Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 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 (Hardcover)

First my excuses for my poor english. I'm Dutch.

This book is somewhat diffent from other memoires. But the great power of this book is the individual story.
I guess that for people who do not know european culture, geopraphy and history this will be a strange book. But I can follow the whereabouts off these men every step he writes them out. To (older)people in Holland these men were angels from the sky and after that heroes and normal men.


Best Parts in the book.

-Jump in Normandy. The psychological lonelyness that he discribes, the chaotic anarchy, determination, succes of failure, brillant. (unbelievable, never read it so honest, disobbeying orders and so forth)
-Holland, operation market garden Disaster. (also read the road to berlin, by Megallis)
-Best part, the enormous after-war vacüum.
-In general the human discription of man needs in the 'wild'. Shelter, good food, a drink and.....

Three drawbacks, the lightness which is used to talk about heavy dramatic scenes is 'strange'(but still natural)
Futher a lot of detail is skipped. Last thing is that you never get feeling that death is all around, sometimes it feels like a walk over.
But the graves are still here.

OVERALL INIQUE DOCUMENT,




Greetings drs.H.I.J.Versteegden