Okie James (Jake) E McNiece passed away today. He
 
grew up in Maysville and Ponca City. 

This is Jake at his best on why He refuses to stand at
 
retreat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2BT4RRhcik

He was part of the The Filthy Thirteen was the name
 
given to the Demolition Section of the Headquarters
 
Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
 
101st Airborne Division. The E.M. Nathanson's
 
inspiration for his book The Dirty Dozen.

Jake considered that any activities not directly
 
concerned with killing the enemy were irrelevant. This
 
attitude caused him to be in constant trouble with the
 
military authorities. 

Nevertheless, McNiece finished the war with four
 
combat jumps, a very rare feat for an American
 
paratrooper. His jumps were made in Normandy,
 
Holland as part of Market Garden, the Pathfinder
 
jump into Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the
 
Bulge, then his last jump as an observer with the 17th
 
Airborne Division during Operation Varsity.