Determined to do so, he goes to an extreme only to learn there can only be desire: "He walked around on his skinned feet, leaving bloody footprints up and down the corridors, looking for someone to love him.
Hanley was the unfortunate soldier that had been caught by the enemy while sleeping.
The enemy proceeded in flaying Hanley's skin, sparing his face and genitals as the general had requested.
His skin was then hung on the barbed wire and he was left for dead.
When morning arrived, the enemy had retreated and Hanley was rescued and then sent to the veteran's hospital.
In the final letter, the general revealed he could no longer endure it and that he was possessed by Hanley.
The saint allowed him to do so only slightly shivering from the cold blade of the knife.
"[1] When he looked into the saint's loving eyes, he finally realized what had occurred.