The Filthy Thirteen
5th June 1944, Exeter field, England
By Joel Iskowitz

In preparation for their predawn parachute jump into Normandy, a band of demolition saboteurs shaved Mohawks and donned war paint from the wet black and whit invasion stripes on their C47 troop transport. Photographs of these paratroopers sparked the imagination of  writers and the trail of myth and legend they left behind fuelled it. The Filthy Thirteen was the rebellious and hard fighting 1st Section of the Demolition Saboteur Platoon of Regimental Headquarters Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
 That night they would jump in with the 3rd Battalion, but in spite of being widely scattered across the Contentin Peninsula most  reached their objective, the bridges of the Douve River thus preventing the Germans from attacking the Utah landings.
The myth and legend of The Filthy Thirteen got its start at Camp Toccoa, Georgia during their initial training. By the time the war ended with causalities and the missing in action over thirty men could claim to be part of this famed group. What they were was a demolition section assigned to the Headquarters Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. They were members of the famed 101st Airborne Division, “The Screaming Eagles” and would play an integral role in every battle they fought in World War II.

During training and throughout the war their antics and attitude would get them in trouble. Like many of the stories the print press would publish during the war about The Filthy Thirteen, a 1960’s movie, loosely based on them, by E. M. Nathanson, The Dirty Dozen, bore only a slight resemblance to the groups real makeup and accomplishments. Surviving members are quick to point out that unlike the movie they were not prisoners or convicts but their behaviour would get them in trouble, often meriting a short trip to the brig. They didn’t do everything they were supposed to do and did a lot more than the military wanted them to do.

Their reputation for not bathing prior to D-Day was only overshadowed by the hard living, hard fighting; never give up attitude that preceded them into battle. They were certainly not the military’s idea of ‘spit and polish’ but once on the ground in France, later in Holland, Belgium and Germany, the Germans were to be the recipients of their tenacity and ferociousness that perpetrated the myth into a legend.

They were easily recognizable on D-Day with their Mohawk haircuts and with the invasion stripe paint from the airplanes they painted their faces with war paint. They were the only planeload of paratroopers to do this on D-day or during any other combat jump.

As demolition-saboteurs they first jumped on D-Day with their mission being to defend and/or destroy bridges over Douve Canal to prevent the Germans from reinforcing the beach heads. Their mission near the small Normandy village of Brevands was considered suicidal but they accomplished it despite being vastly outnumbered fending off repeated German counter attacks for five days. Before returning to England for resupply and redeployment, they fought for bravely for 36 days in Normandy contributing immensely to the liberation of the first major city in France, Carentan.

Their second combat jump would be the following September with the rest of the 101st and the 82nd Airborne as part of Operation Market Garden in Holland. Fighting for 78 consecutive days they fought the Germans at every turn along this thinly held highway. Summing up the intensity of this fighting in Holland that took place, history has bestowed the nickname of ‘Hells Highway’ to where they fought to keep this vital transportation corridor open during the campaign.

During the Battle of the Bulge, the Filthy Thirteen fought bravely alongside other elements of the 101st in defending the city of Bastogne. Some of the Filthy Thirteen played a key role by volunteering as Pathfinders before this German offensive started. With Bastogne being cut off and surrounded supplies were running low. The pathfinders would have to jump in directing the resupply of the Bastogne during the siege. The Pathfinders lead by the Filthy Thirteen members jumped in guiding the much needed supplies saving an entire Division and ensuring the 101st had its Rendezvous with Destiny. After Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge they moved to Haguenau, France then Germany to fight, finally ending up in to the Austrian Alps. Any combat mission given to them they completed successfully.

Limited edition of only 950 Prints Each Signed by all four Filthy Thirteen Members
Jake McNiece,
Jack Agnew,
Jack Womer,
Robert Cone.

Includes Certificate of Authenticity
£125.00 + postage and packing