Fishing with a Legend
July 11, 2005
The General’s rod tip pumped twice as the big king mouthed his silver and chartreuse K16 Kwikfish. He let the fish take the plug for a second longer and then jumped from his seat and jerked his rod wildly to bury the hooks. The blue GLoomis doubled over and bent almost to the cork under the strain of yet another jumbo salmon streaking, hell-bent for Bristol Bay.
Each time the fish burned line from the reel, the General squealed with delight like a kid watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. After a very spirited battle, the huge buck finally succumbed to the General’s steady pressure and I was able to slide the net under it. Back at the lodge, the other clients couldn’t believe the General’s luck. All week long, he had been bringing in the biggest fish of the day and today was no different.
I even heard one envious angler in the crowd mutter “what the heck did he do to deserve all that luck?”
Well, a lot actually.
For starters, Major (two-star) General Erbon W. Wise, 85, of Natchitoches, Louisiana put in 29 years of service defending this country. I think that alone probably entitles him to some good fishing fortune. Not to mention the fact that he slogged his way to shore and up the beach under heavy enemy fire as a twenty-something year-old Army Captain on Utah Beach during the invasion of France in June 1944. Because of guys like General Wise, we are able to live the lives we have today and for that, he should catch the biggest fish of the day.
I’ve had the pleasure of guiding the General two different seasons in Alaska and feel extremely privileged to have been able to spend some time with such an amazing man. He’s lived a life that makes mine seem like an absolute joke. After fighting the Nazis on the beach on D-Day, General Wise went on to see and do an incredible amount of amazing things.
The General doesn’t like to talk much about the ugly sides of war (when I asked him what it was like on D-Day on Utah Beach, he simply replied: “There were a lot of people shooting at you.”), but get him onto subjects that don’t involve guns and dead young men and he’ll go on for hours.
A few days after the Normandy invasion, the General (then a captain) happened to be riding his bike near an impromptu airfield the allies had built after pushing the Germans back. Out of nowhere, a passenger plane escorted by two British spitfires came roaring out of the clouds and landed on the strip. When the planes finished taxing, Captain Wise noticed the two soldiers trying to open the door to the passenger plane from the inside were having trouble. He rode over to the plane and helped them get the hatch open.
Much to his surprise, Winston Churchill emerged from the plane, cigar and all. The Prime Minister ordered Wise to give him a tour of the front lines and for a second, Captain Wise smiled to himself at the thought of throwing Churchill on the handlebars of his bike. Instead, however, he borrowed a jeep and spent the entire day driving the Prime Minister around.
Before the invasion, Wise was stationed in England, where he served time with the Army Air Corps’ 91st Heavy Bombardment Group and was on the field when the B-17 Memphis Bell, shot to hell and barley flying, limped home after her historic 25th and final mission (by the way, he said that the movie “Memphis Bell” quite accurately portrayed the final mission of the plane).
As the Allies pushed eastward, Wise’s unit closely followed and supported General Patton’s 3rd Armored Division as it blazed across France. Wise and his unit arrived on the outskirts of Paris just as the Germans pulled out. That afternoon, he took a drive down the city’s famous Champs Elysses and was the first American on that famous boulevard.
The Parisians absolutely mobbed him — thinking he was liberating their city. Thousands of the city’s residents came out to greet Wise and gave him a rock star reception. He told me that he must have been kissed by a thousand beautiful French girls that day and shook more hands than he can remember. As the “liberator” of Paris, Wise was invited to parties and got to hang out with dignitaries and French film stars.
With a gleam in his eye and a wry smile, the General told me that he could have done very well for himself had he stayed in Paris…
Later, Fred Astaire was visiting France on a USO tour and Wise looked forward to going and seeing the show. Unfortunately, though he was only a few blocks away from where Astaire was playing, he was given orders to stay and guard the base. Wise figured it would be a long, boring night — until fate threw him a curve. After the show, all the women Astaire had in his troupe were escorted by officers to go out dancing and drinking, leaving the star alone and bored on base. Looking for somebody to talk to, he found his way into the tent where Wise was stationed and, the two hit it off. Wise and Astaire shared a bottle of scotch and shot the bull until dawn.
After the war, the General went on to have a wonderful career as a newspaper man in Louisiana and owned several papers until he finally sold out a few years back.
And that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. I’d need a book — a big one — to chronicle the General’s life. His story is so amazing… and like I said earlier, it kinda makes me feel like I’ve done absolutely noting with myself so far.
Again, I’m honored to have met the General and hope that he is in good enough health to make the trip to Alaska again next year. The big ones are waiting for you, General!
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