Colonel William Berry, Executive Officer
Executive Officer
to General Frederick J. Kroesen, the COMMANDER IN CHIEF (CINC)
UNITED STATES ARMY IN EUROPE (USAREUR)
Heidelberg, Germany

I was a Specialist Five in the Army working as an Army Stenographer for General Frederick J. Kroesen, the four-star Commander-in-Chief, United States Army Europe (CINCUSAREUR) in Heidelberg, Germany.
One day, I went to the bank on Campbell Barracks to conduct some business. The bank was a quick walk from the Keyes Building where I worked. Before leaving the teller’s window, I counted the change she had given me and noticed that she had short-changed me by $20.00. I went back to her window and told her that she made a mistake. She insisted that she had given me the right change, but I knew she hadn’t. So rather than argue with her, I headed back to my office in a huff. I am not one to give up when I know I am right.
When I got back to my office, I sought help from the one officer who I trusted the most: Colonel William Berry. He was the Executive Officer to General Frederick J. Kroesen,
Colonel Berry was an intelligent, trusted, respected, and no-nonsense senior officer, who ran the CINC’s office like a tight ship. He exercised the diplomacy, tact, and serious leadership necessary for that prominent position. In one hand, he held a bit of wry humor and in the other, his proverbial whip for the straphangers. To anyone who did not know him, Colonel Berry was difficult to reckon. He had to be tough in his position. He was no pushover.
One thing that tickled me about him was the moniker he gave to low-ranking officers who vied for face time or an audience with the CINC without having official business to do so. He called them “straphangers.” These bozos would tag along like little puppies behind an officer who had to officially brief the CINC. Whenever a group of five officers showed up to brief the CINC, Colonel Berry would question them all to see who actually had to conduct official business with the CINC. Usually, Colonel Berry would weed out two or three straphangers and send them packing back to their offices with their tails tucked between their legs. Like many officers and enlisted personnel, I had a level of high respect for Colonel Berry. He was admired, fair but firm.
After returning to the Keyes Building, I went to his office and stood in the doorway. I didn’t have to say anything. He knew something was wrong and that I needed his help. He told me to come in and have a seat in the chair next to his desk. I explained to him what had happened at the bank. He listened intently and told me to wait until just before the bank’s closing time and he would go back over there with me.
He knew I was a single parent and that I had two daughters I was supporting by myself. And as a single parent, $20 meant a lot to me. He also knew that I was a soldier who told the truth. I thanked him for his support and returned to my desk in the outer office to wait for the time to go back to the bank with him.
I tried to get back to work, but the situation with that bank teller occupied the rest of my workday. When 4:10 came around, Colonel Berry came to my desk with his hat in his hand and said to me, “Let’s go.” I grabbed my hat and followed him down the hallway and out the side door through the garden outside the Keyes Building. We took the path through the garden, which led us to the bank on Campbell Barracks.
When we got to the bank, Colonel Berry opened the door and allowed me to go in before him. I told Colonel Berry that the teller who had shortchanged me was still at her window. But he thought it would be best to consult with the bank manager about my situation.
He went over to a lady at a desk to ask for the manager. She used her phone to contact the manager who came out to greet us in a friendly manner. She led us to her office and invited us to have a seat. After she listened to my problem, she told us that the tellers are required to count their trays at the end of the day. She said that she would have the teller who did my transaction to tabulate her intake transactions for the day to see if there was any discrepancy.
Then the bank manager left her office briefly and returned to tell Colonel Berry and me that the teller, indeed, was $20 over the amount of what she should have taken in. She apologized to me before handing me my $20. I smiled and thanked her and so did Colonel Berry.
As I left the bank with Colonel Berry, I could not have been more proud to serve with such an outstanding, upright, caring senior Army officer. I wanted to give him a big hug, but that was out of the question and would be unprofessional. As we walked back to our offices in the Keyes Building, I stopped for a moment. He turned around to look at me and I looked him in the eye and said to him with the utmost respect, “Thank you, Colonel Berry.” Smiling, he said, “You’re welcome.” He knew that was my big hug from me to him.