Posted by Eugene (Gene) H. Castle, Jr. on May 14, 2016:

LTC Enos was the battalion commander of the newly activated 1st BN 87th Infantry, 8th Infantry Division, Baumholder, Germany, when I was assigned as a platoon leader, then Assistant S-4 (Support Platoon Leader) August 1963 to August 1964. COL Enos was an outstanding battalion commander. He had jumped into Normandy with the 101st ABN Division. He took his duties most seriously, yet was great as a motivator at battalion functions - happy hours, etc. I can't say enough good things about him. The one incident I recall was a battalion test which did not go well due largely to the fact that the Brigade commander was COL George Casey, an old and apparently bitter rival of COL Enos at the Academy. After the battalion test, following COL Casey's caustic remarks about our performance, COL Enos gathered the officers together and thanked us for the good job we did. And, we had done a damned good job. The battalion did a good job and became the best battalion in the 8th ID. COL Enos said just enough to let us know the impact of politics (his relationship with COL Casey) on the outcome of the test. One powerful statement COL Enos once made was that he would never lie about the readiness of our battalion when reporting to the Division Commander because if and when the Division Commander needed to commit our battalion in action, COL Enos wanted him to know exactly the condition of the battalion he was committing. We all knew that some battalion commanders were lying about the state of their readiness. They were falsely reporting a higher status of readiness. COL Enos' truthfulness impacted adversely on his career. You see, when our battalion was activated, we inherited an inventory of junk from a roto plan battalion from Benning. They never maintained their equipment, never requisitioned spares, etc. Then they rotated back to the States and left all the junk behind for us to deal with. That cost COL Enos his career. He really should have made 0-6, but instead he retired and taught school, according to a fellow officer I knew from the battalion. That was after I left the battalion. I vowed that if I ever met one of the responsible officers from the battalion that left all that junk behind for us, I would deck the SOB. Well, at my next assignment, wouldn't you know, I had my chance. It was at an officers call and everyone from the Brigade Commander on down was there, including a captain who had been the S-4 of that battalion that preceded us at Baumholder, the S-4 of the scoundrels who screwed us and wrecked our Colonel's career. I called that officer out in a loud voice so everyone could hear, right there in the Officer's Club. I was burning. The Brigade Commander was right next to me and he said with a shocked look on his face: "Is that a fact?" And I said "Yes, sir, that is a fact! The officers of that battalion, from the commander on down were negligent and that cost those of us who fell in on that equipment unbelievable problems and it cost our commander his career!" In fact, the buildings were also a wreck with windows broken out and everything in disrepair. How could a commander and his staff have gone away and left such a disaster? Well, I was ready for that captain to come around the table and face me, but the man just stood there, paralyzed. I followed that guy's career as he worked and weaseled his way up. This is not professional jealousy on my part, as I can back up my statements with more examples. What burnt me was our battalion commander was an honorable man, a hero in my book. Casey went on to become a general officer and was killed in Vietnam. That is sad and tragic; however, he was a politician first and foremost, in my humble opinion. I wanted to share all this because I read the brief info on COL Enos, his birth date, graduation date and date of death almost 23 years ago and mine is the first eulogy for this great officer. But, there is a whole lot more to his story. He was an outstanding commander, a WWII Hero, a gentleman, a very good man. God bless you, Colonel Enos. You are missed. We are all standing at attention and saluting you, good man! Very truly yours, Gene Castle, LTC US Army Retired.

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