Jake McNiece

Jake McNiece
Acting Sgt James "Jake" McNiece
Nickname(s)	"McNasty"
Born	(1919-05-24)May 24, 1919 Maysville, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	January 21, 2013(2013-01-21) (aged 93) Chatham, Illinois, U.S.
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1942–1946
Rank	Acting First Sergeant
Unit	506th Parachute Infantry Regiment 101st Airborne Division
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Bronze Star (4) Purple Heart (2) Legion of Honour

James Elbert "Jake" McNiece (May 24, 1919 – January 21, 2013) was a US Army paratrooper in World War II. Sergeant McNiece was a member of the Filthy Thirteen, an elite demolition unit whose exploits inspired the novel and movie The Dirty Dozen.

James McNiece was born on May 24, 1919 in Maysville, Oklahoma, the ninth of ten children born to Eli Hugh and Rebecca (née Ring) McNiece, and of partial Choctaw descent. The family moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma in 1931. In 1939, he graduated from Ponca City High School and went to work in road construction, and then at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, where he gained experience in the use of explosives.

McNiece enlisted for military service on September 1, 1942. He was assigned to the demolition saboteur section of what was then the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. This section would become the Filthy Thirteen, first led by Lieutenant Charles Mellen, who was killed in action on June 6, 1944 during the Invasion of Normandy. Following Mellen's death, Sergeant McNiece led the unit.

McNiece's demolitions experience with the fire department before the war made him the section sergeant, but his mission focus kept him in that rank in spite of his deliberate disobedience and disrespect during training. His first sergeant and company commanders knew he was the man the regiment could count on during combat. His escapades are documented in both his words in The Filthy Thirteen, Fighting With the Filthy Thirteen, and War Paint; The Filthy Thirteen Jump Into Normandy.

McNiece went on to make a total of four wartime combat jumps, the first as part of the Invasion of Normandy in 1944. In the same year he jumped as part of Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, which was featured in the book (and subsequent film), A Bridge Too Far, and at the Siege of Bastogne, part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. During fighting in the Netherlands, he was promoted to demolition platoon sergeant. He volunteered for pathfinder training, anticipating he would sit out the rest of the war training in England, but his pathfinder stick was called upon to jump into Bastogne to guide in resupply drops. His last jump was in 1945, near Prüm in Germany. In recognition of his natural leadership abilities, he ended the war as the acting first sergeant for Headquarters Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was discharged from the military in February 1946.