American Valor Quarterly Issue 5 - Winter 2008/09 | Page 20
outflank the Germans. Right
when we started to move, a
flare went up, and I hit the
ground just as the .20 mm
opened up and started cutting
our guys in half. It was so
close that dirt was kicking up
and hitting me in the head. As
soon as the flare went off, I
jumped up and looked
around. The only ones
standing were me, the Navy
man, and two paratroopers
– the rest were lying dead.
He said, “It smells like a hamburger joint and a barbecue stand.
You haven’t been to the mess hall in three months. You are eating
high on the hog in there.”
As all this was happening, the bobbies were standing there, taking
it all in. I was leaning up against the tree in which I had two deer
hanging, curing them. They never did find them. The sika deer
was pretty good eating, though they are small deer. We had to kill
two or three of them to feed that many people. But at least we
never had to go to the mess hall.
Greg Henesy: All right, now to Mr. Agnew. Jack, why don’t you
tell us your story about going into Normandy?
Jack Agnew: The thing that everybody seems to identify with us
Robert Cone (right) demonstrates Greg Henesy: Back to are the Mohawks and the war paint. Well, the Mohawks came
that one of the favorite activities of England for a minute. Mr. about after Jake had given us a book about the First World War,
the Filthy Thirteen was drinking... McNiece seemed to find which talked a bit about lice. We figured that the less hair we had,
trouble wherever he went. Seems you didn’t like the food too the less we had to worry about it, so we used the razors in our
much, Jake. Tell us how you got around eating English food?
first aid pack to shave our heads prior to jumping into Normandy.
Jake McNiece: They were feeding us Brussels sprouts and carrots
for breakfast, and the same thing that evening reversed. It wasn’t
too good, if you ask me. We happened to be stationed on a large
manor, and the owner had an estate and a big game reserve
there. He had about 150 sika and fallow deer running around out
there. Good meat, you know! I figured I would give my men a
better meal, so I started to go out each night and kill one or two
of those deer, hang them in a hallowed tree, skin them out and
let them cool down.
In the meantime he had two fish hatcheries there full of trout.
While those deer would be cooling out, I would be there gigging
fish and catching rabbits. After awhile, the owner came, discovered
this mess and charged the United States Army $10,000 for all
these animals that we had been eating.
Top: Courtesy of Robert Cone; Bottom: Courtesy of Jack Agnew
They called the bobbies in, and they were questioning me as we
stood right next to one of the hollowed trees full of deer meat.
Of course, I was denying everything! When the officers found
out th ] ^H