Fighting With The Filthy Thirteen: The World War II Story of Jack Womer is a book about Jack Womer, a steel worker from Baltimore Maryland and a well known soldier of World War II who served in the 101st Airborne Division, within the section of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regimental Headquarters Company’s demolitions platoon known more commonly as the “Filthy Thirteen”. Compared to other veterans of World War II, Womer’s story is unique in that unlike most of the millions of young American men who were drafted into military service during World War II, Jack was drafted into military service in April of 1941: months before the United States entered the war. Jack was drafted into the 29th Infantry Division, and sent to Europe in October of 1942. Jack volunteered for the 29th Ranger Battalion, a new and elite Commando unit, and was among the relatively few men who met the extensive and rigorous requirements for becoming a Ranger.
After the 29th Rangers disbanded in October, 1943, Jack Womer volunteered to become a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division. His Commando training made him highly qualified to become a paratrooper, and Womer completed all of his paratrooper training and qualification jumps in just ten days. In January of 1944 Womer was assigned to the demolitions section known famously and infamously as the “Filthy Thirteen” of the 101st Airborne Division’s 506th Parachute Infantry Regimental Headquarters Company. It was with the Filthy Thirteen that Jack participated in the Invasion of Normandy (D-Day), the Battle for Holland, and the Battle of the Bulge. His leadership skills and ability to think tactically and strategically made him the perfect choice for buck sergeant of the Filthy Thirteen, a position which he maintained from December, 1944 until the end of the war.
Fighting With The Filthy Thirteen is different from many of the other books written by or about men who served in the 101st Airborne Division or 29th Infantry Division and that provide details and stories about World War II. The book is not just about Jack Womer the soldier, it is also about Jack Womer the man. It provides details on Jack’s childhood and pre-war life in Baltimore during the Great Depression of the 1930s, war experiences as a combat soldier, life after the war, and how the war affected him and his life. Many of the chapters begin with excerpts taken from letters written by Jack or to Jack during World War II, that capture the feelings and emotions that Jack or his loved ones were experiencing at the time. Vivid details of Jack’s combat experiences and how they affected him, are openly expressed.
The story is profound - Jack Womer an aging World War II veteran and a proxy for his generation (often referred to as the “Greatest Generation”), telling his story directly to the reader, who experiences the story first hand. As Jack’s story unfolds the reader will observe how the war has changed Jack, and men like him. The changes are profound, yet subtle and (as with many other veterans of World War II) understated, if not submerged. Many of the sons, daughters, grandchildren and other descendants of American soldiers who served in the European Theatre during World War II are likely to enjoy this book, as it is an insightful social history and personal drama that they can relate to in regard to their own relatives who lived through the Great Depression of the 1930s and served during the war.
Another quality of Fighting With The Filthy Thirteen: The World War II Story of Jack Womer is that it provides a lot of details about Jack Womer and the units in which he served that are not covered elsewhere. It provides details about the stateside activities and European Theatre activities of the 29th Infantry Division during World War II that do not appear in other published materials. Many unpublished details about the 29th Ranger Battalion, an elite subunit within the 29th Infantry Division are provided. These details were obtained primarily from unpublished documents and also from interviews with men who served in the 29th Ranger Battalion with Jack Womer.
This is an excellent book. It is filled with emotions. There is humor, sadness, love, anger, anxiety. After having read the book I find myself going back and re-reading many of the chapters, and analyzing Jack Womer, his wife, his war buddies, and some of the other people mentioned in the book. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself doing the same.
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I must confess that I read the book pretty much in one sitting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 13, 2017william betts
a book for 101st A/B
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2013