The True Saviors of Bastogne And Why They Were Snubbed By Colonel Sink

On December 23rd 1944, members of the 506th (101st) jumped into Bastogne to set up drop zones for the re-supply of the besieged town.
For their efforts, they only received the Bronze Star.

[@Cabmaker]

Fascinating story never heard of this before. Sounds like these men deserve a lot of credit for their role

[@Hellbender21]

Mcnasty of the filthy 13. Legend and true warrior. There's a lot of good stuff on them, if you decide to dig deeper.

[@georgesouthwick7000]

There were untold numbers of soldiers who contributed to holding Bastogne. For whatever reason, when people think of The Battle of the Bulge, they believe the 101st. and Patton’s Third Armed were responsible for the victory. Not meaning to take anything away from either one, but if others hadn’t made significant contribution as well, the mission would have failed.

[@TowGunner]

The Fat Electrician covered Jake McNiece. It’s fantastic!

[@IrisAsuras]

Read his book. It's awesome.

[@Hellbender21]

@@IrisAsuras just ordered it a few days ago. This is very relatable. I'm currently trying to get my 2A rights back and every guy who was in my truck in Sadir city when I was awarded a bronze star with Valor, is now also a felon. Not comparing what we did to the legendary filthy 13, but I was nicknamed "Dirty Dave". Used to hate that nickname.

[@gobblox38]

When I was in Iraq, my battalion commander would deny and downgrade medals for soldiers who were detached to other units. The units they were attached to would recommend the awards which is mostly why they were denied. The reasoning was exactly the same as Sink's. It was a garbage reason in both cases.

[@kudukilla]

McNiece and his Filthy 13 were the guys who had Mohawks and war paint for D-Day.

[@altonbunnjr]

Good stuff. However there were men in the 82nd Airborne, in the 505th who made four combat jumps. I believe there were 26 of them who survived.

[@War_And_Truth]

Yes it was only in respect to the 101st. I should have made that clearer.

[@theswordguy5269]

Most 101st members made two jumps in the war. These men, at least most of them, clearly made three (Normandy, Market Garden, Bastogne). I never knew about these men and their actions in December, 1944.

[@kudukilla]

Some even got 4, there was a smaller jump to get across the Rhine. The one mentioned in Band of Brothers where Nixon and 2 others were the only survivors of his plane.

[@Eric-mc5to]

He had 4. Normandy, market garden, Bastogne and then Prüm

[@johngaither9263]

Despite his positive appearance in "Band of Brothers" Colonel Sink was a Martinette. His behavior and attitude toward discipline more closely mirrored that of Captain Sobel. In fact, Sink was a supporter of Sobel and had it not been for the Sergeants mutiny Sobel would have remained in commend of Easy Company into Normandy. His behavior toward rewarding the Pathfinders Silver Stars comes as no surprise. He was not in direct command of them at the time and would have received little or no recognition for their exploits.

[@bermudaguy5003]

Thank you very much for this video War & Truth! I have been looking on & off for a very long time for a video that mentioned the 9th Troop Carrier Group which my Dad Lester J. Vohs was a co-pilot in a C-47 if I remember right. I have the list of the Missions, Bastogne being one of them, 4 medals, & Airborne Troop Carrier jacket patch. I am only 1 minute into your video, so I will let you know my findings. Sincerely, A proud son.👍

[@francoisbouvier7861]

@bermudaguy5003 thank you. You should be oh so very proud. The bravery can not be measured.

[@jonathanwetherell3609]

A new piece of history to me, thanks.

[@jonnybanger]

I heard many stories about McNiece from fellas who earned their wings at the WWII Airborne Demonstration Team jump school. Some had their wings pinned on by McNiece! Amongst the greatest honors in my life thus far, is to have jumped 7 times from a plane Jake McNiece had been on. It would've been incredible to have met him.

[@joesheehan6388]

There were other units in Bastogne with the 101st . Artillery and tank destroyers. I don’t think anyone purposely downplays their vital roles , it’s the fact most have only viewed one , Band of Brothers

[@trevormccarthy9019]

Wow…. Amazing story and I thought I knew most about the siege of Bastogne.. this is better than any movie script

[@War_And_Truth]

The filthy 13 could definitely have their own series or movie.

[@nelsonlanglois9104]

" Salute " To the True Unsung Heros of Bastogne , D - Day , and Operation " Market Garden " .. And the after the War , dury the " Berlin Blockaid / Airlift : The C - 47 pilots & crews...!! Flying Unarmed Planes

[@dominicalbanese2899]

The 82nd made 4 combat jumps during WW2....AATW !!!!

[@War_And_Truth]

Yes I should have made that clearer.

[@abbottshaull9831]

Only the 505th made 4 jumps. 504th sat out due to needing to absorb reinforcements. 508th I believe wasn't with the Division during the 1st and 2nd Jump.

[@angloaust1575]

French paras made 156 combat jumps during first indochina war!

[@davidg6395]

If HBO made a Band of Brothers Season 2 following this men and tie up with BoB Season 1...

[@MrJal67]

It would have definitely been interesting to mix them on with Easy Co. They must have walked the same trails here and there...

[@danieldravot341]

If you go to Bastogne you’ll see the memorial erected by the Belgians on the spot that was as close as the Germans got to the town. On one of the columns there, all the units involved in the fighting and relief of the town are listed. My father’s unit, the 445th BG, was listed, but he did not participate in any of the missions supporting the relief of Bastogne. He had been in Stalag 17 for 8 months by the time the Battle of the Bulge began . . .

[@l4c390]

What a bad ass story!! It would be interesting to research the oddity combat parachute jumps in Europe outside to the big operations.

[@War_And_Truth]

I'm always looking for them.

[@angloaust1575]

Sink dismissed men who were late back from weekend passes not taking into account of unreliable public transport! According to winters in ambroses book band of brothers!

[@War_And_Truth]

Ill be posting a video on Sink tomorrow.

[@sez1742]

After the war, I heard he married a lady from the faucet family. 😂😂😂

[@KOHTAOMURDERSDEATHISLAND]

@@sez1742 That sounds like something Sergeant Luz would have said. Your comment made me laugh 😂

[@sez1742]

@@KOHTAOMURDERSDEATHISLAND ha ha ha. Loved the accounting of him tricking Soebel and cutting the fence down. Everyone needs a bit of SGT Luz in their life…especially in the midst of trying times!

[@KOHTAOMURDERSDEATHISLAND]

@@sez1742 Yes, although impersonating an officer could have turned out very badly for Sgt Luz! The enormous risk and actually getting away with it make the prank legendary. If he’d been caught, the words “It seemed like a good idea at the time” might not have saved him.

[@jimomaha7809]

There were US paratroopers who made 4 combat jumps with the 82nd.

[@War_And_Truth]

Yes I should have made that clearer.

[@fload46d]

Those were real men. Curahee.

[@johnklein233]

There were also covert jumps made by a couple select members of the 506th PIR behind enemy lines prior to D-Day to deliver money to the resistance.

[@eloquentsarcasm]

First in, last out...Pathfinders!

[@surfdocer103]

Respect!

[@Hotdog1863]

Sink sounds like a real jerk from what I've read about him. Having served myself we saw plenty of guys like this whose personal opinions and feelings determined their decisions and they didn't care who they stomped over and it wasn't just men who did that either. The women could be just as nasty about it.

[@War_And_Truth]

I just made a video about Sink. It wont help your opinion of him Lol

[@EdZiomek]

Let me guess, Sink was far back from the actual combat, the snake! Note: I have heard this arrogance was not isolated in the War, in all Wars. The highest-grade spaghetti ribbons were generally reserved for the Senior Officers, or so I have heard. I actually was asked by a surviving daughter of one of these units, "Should I contact the Pentagon for the medals my father was promised and never received, since my father passed a few years ago?" And I told her, I can't speak for you, but I can understand what your heroic father would say... "My children and my grandchildren are my medals for surviving, if you find any medals, you can throw them away, I lost too many friends who deserved the medals."

[@War_And_Truth]

The Army is a tough lot to deal with.

[@PAT8888-is2pd]

This went into greater detail about this particular mission but, my favorite account of Jake "McNasty" McNeice was done by the fat electrician on KZbin.

[@War_And_Truth]

Fat electrician? Lol Ill have to check it out.

[@TheWalterKurtz]

Wow.

[@AnthonyBerardis-r1p]

I do not like to speak on things that I haven't witnessed myself, but there are more than a few stories out there about Colonel Sink. Apparently he wasn't a very nice person

[@FuzzyMarineVet]

Of course, McNasty.

[@mjl1966y]

What is it with officers needing to make a crappy life even crappier?

[@lancomedic]

I don’t remember anything about this in the series.

[@War_And_Truth]

The supply drop at Bastogne when the nurse came out to see what was going on was as close as they got.

[@lancomedic]

@@War_And_Truth OK I remember that.

[@donaldturcotte]

We had great and bad officers in ww2

[@m_hub3957]

gee, the 101st never claimed it was "saved" when Patton arrived

[@rm5902]

Men at St Vith saved Bastogne

[@paulmassart8690]

82 airborn did 4 war jumps...siciliana, Balerno, normandie, arnem

[@War_And_Truth]

Yes it was only in respect to the 101st. I didn't make that clear.

[@michaelburke5907]

What about North Africa?

[@henryblicharz5556]

If this happened on 12/23 then Patten entered on 12/26 , 3 days late! Sounds like a FUBAR ?

[@War_And_Truth]

The weather was an issue previously and they had no idea when Patton would get through. As soon as the fog lifted it was game over.

[@MARYREED-nh7gb]

Ahhh... turning an entire Army is like turning an aircraft carrier. He got there when EVERYBODY said that it could not be done. And he was with them every inch of the way.

[@ryanS593]

The more I hear about Sink the more I dislike him

[@hatebreedwolfpack]

Have you ever led men in combat ?

[@War_And_Truth]

No

[@MrJal67]

Sink was an ass. He had 2 Silver Stars...why were these guys heroics not good enough to rate the SS when his were?? RHIP I guess...

[@edwardhoppe4294]

That's Jake "McNasty", of the guys who inspired the movie "The Dirty Dozen". He had little regard for rank and was always a discipline problem, that's why they stuck him in the path finders.

[@David-sk9vv]

Seriously? That's amazing...

[@landomando45]

Pathfinders was optional. They couldn't force anyone to do it due to the high mortality rate

[@mottthehoople693]

@@landomando45 not optional...volunteers

[@landomando45]

@mottthehoople693 right.. they had the option to attempt to become a pathfinder

[@IrisAsuras]

They did not make him become a pathfinder. They asked him to join based on his abilities. The Dirty Dozen was far from accurate. Jake was a problem, but not really a hardened criminal sent to war.

[@lianabevyrage]

McNiece himself is such an interesting character and didn’t fit the image at the time, but my goodness, history is kind to him. What a man.

[@johncarlsen3467]

Eagle Strike. I proudly served with the pathfinders of 2nd Brigade in the 101st during ‘90-‘94. They are indeed a great bunch of airborne soldiers!

[@War_And_Truth]

Nice. Thanks for your service

[@PAS_2020]

Great photos of this rescue. Makes me wish there were smartphones for photos and videos. Can you imagine? My only thought is POOR TEAM SNAFU! They were sure a sad bunch, did the best they could. This is among fantastic Bastogne stories - this is one of the best - and with receipts!! One 4 the archives

[@DavidSmith-ss1cg]

If you research any American war history - in just about every war the US was involved in - the American Command structure(the Brass) and their Military procedures and traditions were just another danger that American fighting men had to put up with. The term "SNAFU"(memorably explained in the "Saving Private Ryan" movie) demonstrates that the American fighting men - the GI - was aware of it. The tendency of the American officer corps to avoid common sense at all costs was recognized by the leaders of the British, the Russians, and the Germans, who memorably said that "The Americans have a great advantage, because War is Chaos, and the Americans practice Chaos on a daily basis."

[@xray86delta]

I've seen that photograph, the one of the brick pile. Thank you for telling the story about those men.

[@War_And_Truth]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@HandyMan657]

Thanks for the history. Never forget

[@mgmmac36]

In this case, Sink was a jerk. Absolutely zero excuse for what he did. Such a loathsome act.

[@fredgohlke4128]

505 PIR

[@johncollins5178]

Very interesting! I don't recall any film/documentary/etc, mentioning the pathfinders dropping in to Bastogne to aid the resupply. Brave lads! Thanks for providing the information.

[@War_And_Truth]

No problem and yes it should have been portrayed somewhere by now.

[@allandavis8201]

I am totally in the dark about parachute drops, I understand the necessity for a drop zone to be clear of enemy forces and if possible friendly forces securing it, but these pathfinders are jumping into the completely unknown situation, which leads me to my question, why didn’t or couldn’t the Bastogne defenders “pop smoke” to indicate a DZ that they could jump into knowing that they were going to land amongst friendly forces?. I can understand why they didn’t or couldn’t pop smoke if a) they were out of communication with the forces outside of the Bastogne area and didn’t know they were coming and b) if they didn’t have any smoke to pop. I would really like to know what the situation was and it may be explained further on. Thank you for sharing this story with us all, very interesting and informative. With regard to them being turned down for the silver star by Colonel Sink he was right and wrong at the same time, they had just done what they were trained for and didn’t merit the higher award, if the criteria was just to do what your job was then every single person who was in combat would have been awarded the silver star, however I personally think that they did deserve the Silver Star, they were jumping into a very unusual and dangerous drop zone, they were not fully equipped and they were totally blind to where a safe DZ was, in addition, if I understand correctly, they were actually from a training unit with personnel who might or might not have been fully trained and/or qualified, putting all those factors together I think they DID deserve the Silver Star, they might just have been following orders but those orders might well have been their death sentence, and I say they were heroes to a man. Lest We Forget.

[@War_And_Truth]

Thanks for the great post. I'm not really sure why either as its not stated in any of the history. I think weather may have been the issue. The pathfinders had to wait for it to clear enough before they could set up their equipment. The recognition orange smoke that McNiece released would have been done when the aircraft were at very low altitude.

[@johnt.4947]

The Pathfinders were badass men! They were then, like what we'd call special forces today. Total respect!

[@singleton_1_0]

today Pathfinders in the UK and Canadian armies are special forces. Not so in the U.S. Army. Women are even allowed to attend the Army course now, sad.

[@johnt.4947]

@@singleton_1_0 Thanks for the info!

[@randyc5650]

Read The Filthy Thirteen: From the Dust Bowl to Hitler's Eagle's Nest about Jake McNiece and his group.

[@thewatcher5271]

I Did Not Know This Part Of History About The Battle Of The Bulge. Those Men Deserved The DSC! My Dad Was There (101 Airborne) & Told Me His War Stories 60 Years Ago. Thank You. (Like #929)

[@War_And_Truth]

Youre welcome. And thanks to your dad.

[@rhett4060]

Col.Was the sadis and Godfather to of the 506 PIR...He passed up positions of higher places on the military "totum pole" He had men kicked out of the airborne for being late returning from. WW 2 traffic jams beyond their controll The 101 airborne was eaten alive with pretty boy, officers from the top down ( ie Maxwell Taylor -) to name one....He was in Washington, DC on business.....enjoying all kinds of un rationed food & drink to when the Germans broke thru the Ardeanns..... Mabey he should have taken Sink with him... Sink was from Lexington, NC.....400 miles south of Washington. In G.I. German....,verstein ze to GI

[@trekfortruth2841]

Wow, just a brilliant episode! Your research and presentation are both first rate!

[@War_And_Truth]

Thanks again!

[@arailway8809]

Where do we find such men?

[@williamneil8862]

Great story; amazing, how even under the most sacrificial circumstances, petty squabbling breaks out over where you can sleep and whether this or that medal was earned. Is that the Sink (sic/?) we heard about so often in Band of Brothers?

[@War_And_Truth]

Yes its the same guy. Because the action was fought in his area, he was the one to make the decision.

[@KOHTAOMURDERSDEATHISLAND]

👍👍 Good work!

[@War_And_Truth]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@2104dogface]

oh god getting blackout drunk with Jack Agnew who was with McNiece on this op. made for epic hangovers esp when we had Wild Bill & Babe in the mix. so many crazy stories singing badly and laughing

[@vgraham580]

This is the first I've ever heard of the Filthy 13. What a tremendous role they played in WW2!

[@rickdemorgan8951]

What was the 513th PIR doing to help Patton on his way to Basogne?

[@tonylittle8634]

That Mcnasty needs his own holiday 😂👍

[@francoisbouvier7861]

The nonsense that took place, why? Is ego that pathetic?

[@greenfire6924]

World War Truth NOT! Everybody that knows anything knows the Eighty Deuce made four combat jumps in WWII. Sicily, Salerno, Normandy and Holland. As for the bombing of the three-story chateau covered at about 11:56- no mention of who bombed it. Reasonable to think it was not the Germans. As for the topic... Random, small unit, operations and actions like the one covered in this video number in the hundreds, if not thousands. It's very good to cover these but only with the understanding that many more will probably never be told outside of dry, unit histories and action reports.

[@War_And_Truth]

Thanks for watching

[@erics362]

Sobel saved Bastogne.

[@War_And_Truth]

Lol By not being there?

[@erics362]

@@War_And_Truth 😂

[@michaelshore2300]

ureca Navigation beacon British equipment

[@marcoosvald8429]

Units in the Pacific did 6 combat jumps to the 82d"s and 101st two.

[@tedlapkin6517]

Incorrect - Original members of the 505th PIR (or those who joined as reinforcements in N Africa) who survived until 19 September 1944 were also entitled to 4 stars on their jump wings - Sicily, Salerno, Normandy and Holland.

[@War_And_Truth]

Yes there are always exceptions.

[@scroggins100]

Col Sink sounds like a real fun character... NOT

[@War_And_Truth]

He sounded like a real hard ass.

[@michaelhayden725]

I am of the opinion that Sink WAS the 506th and that he would adjudicate who got a gong and how big it would be. A logical reading was that the pathfinders did deserve the Silver Star. Just shows don’t upset the Colonel!

[@War_And_Truth]

@@michaelhayden725 I think if anyone deserved a silver star they did. That unit (filthy 13) were known to be always at odds with officers.

[@asmith1711]

Just a typical officer who rules from distance and gives himself many medals for valor, when he didn't get near any danger. General Douglas macarthur got the DFC for being a passenger. That about sums up the senior leadership.