Retired, Mr. Agnew's 36-year career as an installer began with Western Electric Co. and his granddaughter, Jenifer Bateman, said it continued through the evolution of the Bell system.Being good buddies with Jake McNiece, Jack has had a distinguished military career as part of the “Filthy Thirteen” and as a Pathfinder. Along with his long list of military decorations, Jack has also received personal recognition for his achievements from many of the town where he served including, St Com du Mont, Eindhoven, Best, Veghel, Remagen and Bastogne along with others from Prince Bernard of the Netherlands, the King of Belgium, the Joint Chief of Staff, The English Queen Mother and Ronald Regan.

Born:                             02 January 1922                     

Enlistment date:            21 September 1942     Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Deployments:                Europe

Units:                             HQ Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 506th Pathfinder Team.

Rank:                            Private First Class

Specialisations:             Demolitions, Pathfinder

Qualifications:              Combat Infantryman Badge, Paratroopers wings with 3 combat stars, British Airborne Wings

Decorations:        World War II Victory Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, American Theater Ribbon, EAME Theater Ribbon with 4 Bronze Stars and 2 Bronze Arrowheads, Presidential Unit Citation, Distinguished Unit Badge with 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart,  French Croix de Guerre with Palm, Belgian Croix de Guerre, Belgian Fourragere, Netherlands Orange Lanyard

Discharge Date:            Sep 1945

Deceased:                            08 April 2010 Forrest Hills Memorial Park, Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania

 Other Information:      Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Jack and his family immigrated to the United States when he was 5 years old. He graduated from Olney High School in 1940, and entered the military in 1942 joining the US Army and the volunteering for the paratroopers.  Jack participated in the D-Day jump and Operation Market Garden before he and several of his fellow "Filthy Thirteen" paratroopers volunteered to become Pathfinders.

On December 23, 1944, Jack was amongst the two sticks of Pathfinders who parachuted into the besieged town of Bastogne to coordinate the aerial re-supply of the 101st Airborne Division and can often be seen in the famous photo of the event on top of a pile of bricks operating a radio system signaling aircraft flying overhead.