He will eat nearly everything. No party nor any review is complete without him. At one party, being left alone for a few minutes, it is reported that he ate two hundred sandwiches, three cakes, the arrangements for piano and flute of "Pomp and Circumstance", drank half a bowl of punch and then walked jauntily among the dancers, belching slightly, and regarding a certain lieutenant's wife, who shall be nameless, with bloodshot eyes.

He has the slightly bilious look of the military of higher brackets.... He has the confidence of his men. Once when it was required that his wing change quickly, he was left behind, for it was not known in those days how important he was. At the new base the men were nervous and irritable, fearful and almost mutinous. Finally, when it was seen that they would not relax, a special plane had to be sent to pick up, the wing commander and transport him to his new base. Once he arrived everything settled down.

Once there was a war: Steinbeck.
Who was he?
Answer is given in one of the cartoons.