JAMES ELBERT‘ JAKE’ McNIECE
James Elbert " Jake " McNiece, son of Eli Hugh and Rebecca Ring McNiece, was born in Maysville, Oklahoma on May 24, 1919. He died at the home of his son Hugh McNiece in Chatham Illinois on Monday, January 21, 2013 at the age of 93.
After completing work at Pine Bluff Arsenal, he enlisted for military service and volunteered for US Army Paratroop duty on September 1, 1942. He was assigned to the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Headquarters Company.
With Jake as their Sergeant,‘ The Filthy 13,’ sporting Mohawks and war paint, participated in the invasion of Normandy, France, June 5th, 1944. They jumped behind German lines shortly after midnight and before the invasion’ s main force hit the beaches the next morning. Jake and others successfully accomplished their assigned mission( thought to be a suicide mission); however, most of the core Filthy 13 were lost in battle or taken prisoner. Following this, he made three more combat jumps, including into Holland, at Bastogne( The Battle of the Bulge), and Prum Germany.
After the Holland jump, Jake volunteered for Pathfinder Duty. He then led his pathfinder team into Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge to set up the resupply of the trapped 101st Airborne, helping turn the tide of the battle. His 4th jump, at Prum Germany( Siegfried Line), was to guide in airdropped supplies to a section of Patton ' s tank forces that had been isolated and cut off from Allied supply lines.
After Jake ' s discharge from the military in February, 1946, he travelled the US with his father for about 6 months.( His mother had died while Jake was overseas.) He then settled in California for a time, doing railroad and construction work, and returned to Ponca City, Oklahoma, in 1949.
His second wife, Martha Beam Wonders, moved to Ponca City in September 1952, following the death of her first husband. Jake and Martha began dating the following spring and were married September 4th, 1953. They stayed happily married for 59 1 / 2 years.
Jake and Martha took several trips to Europe, where Jake was honored for his service in WWII. Jake has been honored over the years for his service to the Country. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame, made an Honorary Colonel of the 95th Victory Division. He was awarded an Honorary Masters degree in Military Science, by Cumberland University, Lebanon Tennessee for his participation in the military maneuvers there 1943. In September 2012 Jake was awarded the French Legion of Honor, Knight Chevalier medal, the highest honor the French President can give to an enlisted soldier.
His story can be read in the book, " The Filthy Thirteen; the true story of the Dirty Dozen " by Richard Killblane and Jake McNiece.