Robert's older brother, Edmund, was rushed to the Spanish-American War days after graduation from West Point (1898), and was a casualty almost immediately. The Benchley family was attending a public Fourth of July picnic when a bicycle messenger brought the notification telegram. In unthinking, stunned reaction, Maria ("Jenny") Benchley cried out "Why couldn't it have been Robert?!", then standing by her side at the age of nine. (from Wikipedia)