Jack Agnew
Encyclopedia
Private First Class
John J. "Jack" Agnew, USA
(January 2, 1922 – April 8, 2010) was a United States Army
private first class
in World War II
, a member of the Filthy Thirteen
, whose exploits inspired the novel and movie The Dirty Dozen
.
, Northern Ireland
, relocated with his family about 1927 to Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
. Agnew belonged to the Filthy Thirteen, a part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division
. The group parachuted into France
on D-Day
, June 6, 1944, to remove a bridge over the Douve River. The mission cost most of the men their lives, while Agnew was wounded. He was awarded the Purple Heart
for this and the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf for his later service.
Later in 1944 Agnew's unit of the 506th parachuted into the Netherlands and survived a devastating German counterattack during Operation Market Garden
. His final combat drop was during the Battle of the Bulge
, when Agnew and the remaining members of his unit parachuted into Bastogne
, Belgium
. Agnew used a Eureka beacon
to guide the first wave of C-47s during the re-supply mission. The unit at the time gained attention through a photograph in Stars and Stripes
military newspaper
. The men had a reputation for getting into trouble and spending time in the stockade
. Agnew explained that he and his comrades "weren't murderers or anything, we just didn't do everything we were supposed to do in some ways and did a whole lot more than they wanted us to do in other ways. We were always in trouble."
After the war, Agnew suffered from PTSD. He was later employed by Western Electric
, a division of American Telephone and Telegraph. He was interviewed in the 2006 documentary
, The Filthy Thirteen: Real Stories from Behind the Lines, a supplement to a DVD
release of The Dirty Dozen. Barbara Agnew Maloney said that her father told her that only a third of the film is factual, particularly the part about the capture of the German officers. In February 2010, Along with his daughter, Barbara Maloney, Agnew travelled to the Military History Show of Shows convention in Louisville
, Kentucky
, where he was reunited with his unit leader, Jake McNiece, two other of the four surviving members of the "Filthy Thirteen", and three members of Easy Company
, which is highlighted in the Home Box Office
television series, Band of Brothers. Maloney said that Agnew often told her during childhood that he had "won the war." She said, "We didn't really realize it until the Band of Brothers came out."
Agnew died of heart disease
at Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington
in Montgomery County
, Pennsylvania. He had become ill at his home in the Maple Village retirement community in Hatboro
, Pennsylvania. Agnew was survived by his wife, the former Elizabeth "Betty" Potts; a second daughter, Lynne Cooper, and five grandchildren.
Private First Class
Private First Class is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.- Singapore :The rank of Private First Class in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private and Lance-Corporal . It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term...
John J. "Jack" Agnew, USA
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
(January 2, 1922 – April 8, 2010) was a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
private first class
Private First Class
Private First Class is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.- Singapore :The rank of Private First Class in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private and Lance-Corporal . It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a member of the Filthy Thirteen
Filthy Thirteen
The Filthy Thirteen was the name given to a sub-unit of the regimental headquarters of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, of the United States Army, which fought in the European campaign in World War II. This unit was selected and trained to demolish enemy targets...
, whose exploits inspired the novel and movie The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen is a 1967 film directed by Robert Aldrich and released by MGM. It was filmed in England and features an ensemble cast, including Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, and Robert Webber. The film is based on E. M...
.
Biography
Jack Agnew, a native of BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, relocated with his family about 1927 to Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Agnew belonged to the Filthy Thirteen, a part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
. The group parachuted into France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, June 6, 1944, to remove a bridge over the Douve River. The mission cost most of the men their lives, while Agnew was wounded. He was awarded the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
for this and the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf for his later service.
Later in 1944 Agnew's unit of the 506th parachuted into the Netherlands and survived a devastating German counterattack during Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
. His final combat drop was during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, when Agnew and the remaining members of his unit parachuted into Bastogne
Bastogne
Bastogne Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. The municipality of Bastogne includes the old communes of Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardin...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Agnew used a Eureka beacon
Eureka beacon
The Rebecca/Eureka transponding radar was a transponder system used as a radio homing beacon by means of a Eureka ground emitter responding to queries from an airborne Rebecca interrogator.-Operation:...
to guide the first wave of C-47s during the re-supply mission. The unit at the time gained attention through a photograph in Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes (newspaper)
Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...
military newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. The men had a reputation for getting into trouble and spending time in the stockade
Stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...
. Agnew explained that he and his comrades "weren't murderers or anything, we just didn't do everything we were supposed to do in some ways and did a whole lot more than they wanted us to do in other ways. We were always in trouble."
After the war, Agnew suffered from PTSD. He was later employed by Western Electric
Western Electric
Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management...
, a division of American Telephone and Telegraph. He was interviewed in the 2006 documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
, The Filthy Thirteen: Real Stories from Behind the Lines, a supplement to a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release of The Dirty Dozen. Barbara Agnew Maloney said that her father told her that only a third of the film is factual, particularly the part about the capture of the German officers. In February 2010, Along with his daughter, Barbara Maloney, Agnew travelled to the Military History Show of Shows convention in Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, where he was reunited with his unit leader, Jake McNiece, two other of the four surviving members of the "Filthy Thirteen", and three members of Easy Company
E Company, 506th Infantry Regiment (United States)
Easy Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles", is one of the most well-known companies in the United States Army. Their experiences in World War II are the subject of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers based on the book...
, which is highlighted in the Home Box Office
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
television series, Band of Brothers. Maloney said that Agnew often told her during childhood that he had "won the war." She said, "We didn't really realize it until the Band of Brothers came out."
Agnew died of heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
at Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington
Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Abington Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 55,310 in as of the 2010 census.Abington Township is one of Montgomery County's oldest communities dating back to before 1700 and being incorporated in 1704. It is home to some of the county's...
in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...
, Pennsylvania. He had become ill at his home in the Maple Village retirement community in Hatboro
Hatboro, Pennsylvania
Hatboro is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,360 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hatboro is located at ....
, Pennsylvania. Agnew was survived by his wife, the former Elizabeth "Betty" Potts; a second daughter, Lynne Cooper, and five grandchildren.