American Valor Quarterly Issue 5 - Winter 2008/09 | Page 16
I said, “Well, we are a very small group.”
He ordered me to stand in retreat that evening on direct
order. I said, “You mean you are going to destroy me
spiritually.”
He said, “Yes.”
I said, “Okay.”
Well, I stood retreat that evening and then went into town
that night and got all drunk. The ol’ MP was really mistreating
a young soldier. I stepped in and told him to stop it. But he
said, “We’ll do whatever we want, when we want.”
So I took their nightsticks away from them and beat them
to the ground. Then I took their .45s off them and shot up
all the streetlights and everything around there. I wasn’t
shooting at any people - just lights. Then we went on in with
them to the stockade. I never did have to stand retreat again.
Jake McNiece paints the face of a fellow paratrooper as they prepare for their
D-Day jump. The war paint and Mohawks were inspired by McNiece and his
Native American ancestry. The men of the Filthy Thirteen became well-known
Greg Henesy: We will go on to Mr. Agnew now. Jack, tell
to many Americans after the photo on the previous page was printed in
us about the first time you got to meet Mr. McNiece.
Stars and Stripes.
Jack Agnew: Well, we were assigned to regimental headquarters
because they were setting up the 506th Parachute Infantry. Here
I said, “Well, my Dad was Irish; and of course, he is Catholic. My comes this guy down the road with two guards on him, a big
mother was Choctaw Indian, and she was a nature worshipper. I “P” – for “prisoner” on his back and legs. “Who’s that?” I asked.
adopted her religion. It would just absolutely destroy every scruple
of my religion to go out there and salute a handmade flag. We “That is McNiece,” I was told. Later known as McNasty. That
only pay respect to the sun, the moon, the stars, bugs, ants, spiders, was my introduction to Jake and the beginning of a long, long
story between us.
things like that.”
He said, “What do you mean?”
He was kind of shocked. He never had heard of it. I told him,
“Look, if you get me over there, I will kill every Kraut I can find
and everything standing close to him.” But I said, “I am not
going to take part in retreat.”
Greg Henesy: Jake was pretty much full of pranks and was
always cooking something up. Now you guys did some
“demolition work” while blowing out some stumps to clear out
a lake for a swimming hole. What did you run into there?
So he fooled with me about a week on it, and I kept refusing to
stand for it. Th [