The Generals

Asheville
Aug 22, ought 9

My dear Friend,

Gen. Robles’ letter started me thinking about the “generals I have known”.
The first was Robert E. Lee. I believe he was a fraternity brother. He should have staid in college—no disrespect to KA.

Then came all of Uncle Ennalls’ and Uncle Bill’s friends.

I think of WW I and Gen’l Wise, a Marine who wasn’t so wise and lost his entire regiment at Belleau Woods and never quite recovered from it. He would drive up Market St., park next to the old mounting stone, throw open the big front door and shout, “Pigtails, Pigtails!” And my sister at about age 3 would come running down the stairs yelling, “Gen’l Wise, Gen’l Wise!” And jump into his massive arms.

These recollections are quite recent because at Suzi’s family reunion in Detroit, the Hudson Car collectors association held an extraordinary rally and brought many many old Hudsons to our party. I rode in an ’08 model Hudson putt, putt of which the steering mechanism was a stick. And I saw an old Hudson rumble seat coupe with wooden spoked wheels exactly like the one in which Gen’l Wise would drive right up to the beautiful old Wilmington mansion. The year was 1935, not quite a hundred years ago. The place was 1303 Market St. Wilmington DE.

Gen. Jefferson Randolph Kane and his lovely wife, Cornelia, would also appear from time to time, but no Hudsons there. They would come by train from Washington.
He had been the head of the Army Medical Corp and is present in the history book picture portraying the finding of the pesky little mosquito responsible for Yellow Fever in Cuba.
.
He also had a limp which he explained to me resulted from a tomahawk to his knee during the last Indian campaign. Uncle Ennalls was quite amused with that one. Gen. Kane was, in fact, a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson and was buried in the Jefferson grave yard at Monticello.

Genl. Kane could read French, but he couldn’t speak that abominable language. And this is how Uncle Ennalls managed to get to the front lines and win 3 Silver Stars in WW I ! And the French officers were delighted to find an American Captain who actually understood everything they said, so the French piled on decorations too.

That generation of Berls were brought up speaking French in New Orleans, so they spoke French “en avant d’anglais”, which is supposed to mean before they spoke English.

Then came WW II and my uncle, Gen. William Berl, once again very uncomfortably, sat out the war at a Washington desk job, while his unmilitary brother was all over Europe and was even one of the first to cross the Elbe and meet the Russians. An entire chest full of medals, including a giant Stalin era hammer and sickle award. Molotov liked him. The Russians had never seen an American who could match them vodka for vodka.

Every 5 years thereafter, Uncle’s Corp would hold a reunion, several times at 1303 Market St. And here I would get to know more generals and colonels including delightful 4 star Gen. Gillam who was just about 5 feet tall. Then there was Gen. Decker, head of JAG. He wanted to know if I would go to West Point! Ha! And Col. Father McDonough whom we visited in his peacetime roll, Chaplin in a tiny New Hampshire prison.

There were so many Col’s. that they are lost in the scuffle, or should I say, in the best martinis ever made. [Uncle had many talents.] There was even a French Major Andre [“accent aigu. Allons enfants…” ]

Of course, I can’t forget our next door neighbor Gen. Moore who actually shot down several Jap planes in the Pacific with the same 90mm long rifles that we used in training while I was in the Guard—that was just before I went to Korea, thank you very much for your encouragement, generals.

And to complete the caste, there was a general who was Dela. Natn’l Guard chief. The last time I saw him, he invited me to re-up in the Natn’l. Guard in memory of other family members, an invitation to which I made a rather strong reply in order to be heard through the dense fog of alcohol which accompanied him throughout his affairs of state.

Had you cared to, had you gone in that direction, you would have been the last General I have known. I’m dead certain of that! Because, old Friend, I bloody well would have shot you!

Ennalls

p.s. Now that our old friend Col. Billy Keen is no more, there is no one else to show this to which is just as well. I don’t mind sending it to you, but there are other Delawareans who might well be scandalized,
and I don’t want to spend the rest of my days fleeing from those yahoos.

Fondest regards.

Shameless commercial plug added by Chris: Buy Hand Dryers!