Jack Agnew

He was born in the few months between the Irish Civil War and the formation of Northern Ireland.  There was still a lot of unrest, and there were still nightly black outs and curfews. Therefore, his father called the doctor to the house, who arrived by an armored car.  The family home, Ashfield, was a dairy farm close to the shipyards on Holywood Rd.  Ashfield is gone, but the property is now Ashfield Girls School, Ashfield Boys School, and the local airport.  His mothers’ father, cousin and brother-in-law had all worked as platers/metal workers on the Titanic.  His fathers’ brother had married the daughter of the man who was the Shipwright at Harland and Wolfe, as well as the man who launched the Titanic, Robert W. Keith.  His uncle was married his daughter, Annie Keith. 

Following the Titanic disaster, the family was impacted by WW1.  Jack’s father was called to London to work for the war effort, along with his mother’s two sisters.  When things got really bad, his mother returned to Ashfield with his baby sister, Elizabeth.  One night, as his father was at work, the Germans dropped mustard gas with their Zeplins.  Jack’s mother’s sister was killed and another sister was injured, with lung problems until her death in 1925.  

Shortly after Jack, known to the family as “Wee Jackie” was born, his parents decided to leave.   His father was an apprenticed machinist, showing “Mechanical Engineer” on his immigration papers.  His mother was apprenticed as a master weaver.  His mothers’ remaining sister has moved to the US, and in 1924, his father left for the US to meet the two year residency requirement.  Jack left Ireland when he was four, and arrived in New York. He did not return until he was on leave while stationed at Littlecote, in England. His uncle immediately recognized him, “It’s Wee Jackie”.

Agnew parachuted into France on D-Day, June 6, 1944, to remove a bridge over the River Douve. The mission cost most of the men their lives, leaving Agnew wounded. He was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, with an Oakleaf for his subsequent service. Later in September 1944 Agnew parachuted into the Netherlands and survived a devastating German counter-attack during Operation Market Garden. He then trained as a Pathfinder, Agnew joined because Jake had done it before him, Agnew always wanted to be by Jake's side. His final combat knockdown was during the Battle of the Bulge, when Agnew and members of his unit parachuted into Bastogne, Belgium. Agnew used a Eureka beacon to guide the first wave of C-47s during the resupply mission.

After the war, he attended Drexel University on the GI Bill. He was an employee of Western Electric, a division of American Telephone and Telegraph.

Agnew died of heart disease at Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He had fallen ill at his home in the Maple Village retirement community in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.