History often repeats itself, are we in a teaching moment again: Bonus Army

This article sprang from an idea from Johnny Cardell, or JC to many of us here, thanks for the suggestion, Mr. Cardell.

I apologize for the length. 

First, a word of warning this is a lengthy subject, I will attempt to give you the Readers Digest condensed version.  A little history lesson is to start. A bonus Army is a concept to pay a soldier to help them recoup the costs of what they lost had they not enlisted. An incentive to fight, rather than stay in the civilian workforce. It was in use as far back as 1776 in the United States and has its roots in England around 1592-1593.

In August 1776, Congress authorized the first pension-providing law for disabled veterans granting them half pay for life.  This law was expanded to include spouses later on.

Before World War 1, the bonus was paid in both cash, and land, depending on rank. During the 1860 so much land had been granted to veterans this became a problem, and the program was changed to a cash-only system.  However, veterans of the Spanish-American War were paid no bonus, which again became a bit of a political matter. And became even worse when Veterans of WWI were paid only 60.00 dollars, the equivalent of 1,027.55 dollars today.

In 1924 then President Calvin Coolidge vetoed a bill granting veterans a bonus saying that “patriotism… bought and paid for is not patriotism.” Congress overrode his veto and enacted the World War Adjusted Compensation Act. Each veteran was to receive a dollar a day for domestic service, with a maximum of 500.00 dollars, and a dollar twenty-five for each day of overseas service with a maximum of 625.00 dollars.  Deducted from this was the $60.00 each veteran was paid at end of service at discharge. Any sum of $50.00 or less was paid immediately. All other amounts were issued Certificates of Service which matured in 20 years. These certificates were to be paid in 1945, and Congress granted a fund of 112 million dollars to establish this program. In the meantime, veterans could borrow up to 22.5 % of the value of their certificate’s face value.

But then 1931 and the Great Depression happened. Congress allowed up to 50% loans on the face value, and there was support for the immediate redemption of the Certificates. President Hoover, along with many Republican members of Congress opposed this. They thought they would have to raise taxes to cover the cost, further slowing the economy.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars continued to press the government to pay for early redemption.

In January 1932 a march on Washington D.C. of approximately 25,000 unemployed Pennsylvanians dubbed Cox’s Army held a demonstration. The largest to date.

The Bonus Army referred to as the (Bonus Expeditionary Force or BEF) set up camps, in a form of Hoovervilles on Anacostia Flats. A location that was illegal to occupy. Pelham D. Glassford had obtained permission off the record from a friend, Major  General U.S. Grant III who was the Director of Public Building, and Public Parks in the Capitol, and had agreed to not object. Glassford worked with camp leaders to both supply and feed the camp’s occupants. 

On June 15th, 1932 the US House of Representatives voted to pass the Wright Patman Bonus Bill, by a vote of 211 to 176. This would move forward the date of payment to the BEF. On June 17th, the Senate voted on the Bonus Bill and it was defeated by a vote of 62 to 18. 6000 bonus marchers had massed to the Capital for this vote. 

On July 28th, with prodding from President Hoover D.C. Commissioners ordered Glassford to clear the buildings, rather than allow the protesters to drift away as he had wanted, and had previously recommended. When the Veterans rioted a policeman (George Shinault) pulled his weapon and shot two of the Veterans, Eric Carlson, and William Hushka both of whom died later. 

President Hoover who had received a request for a previous riot had passed that request to Secretary of War Hurley who told General MacArthur to take action, he was to disperse the veterans. MacArthur brought in the cavalry, infantry, tanks, and machine guns to push the “Bonusers” out of Washington. 

At approximately 13:40 (1:40 PM) Gen. MacArthur ordered Gen. Perry Miles to assemble the troops on the Ellipse the area immediately south of the White House. Within the hour Major George S. Patton led the 3rd Cavalry across the Memorial Bridge. The 12th infantry arrived about an hour later. At 16:00 (4 PM) Miles told MacArthur the troops were ready. MacArthur said Hoover stated to him “be on hand as things progressed so that he could issue necessary instructions on the ground” that way Hoover wouldn’t “take the rap if there should be any unfavorable or critical repercussions.  

At 16:45 (4:45 PM) Commanded by MacArthur the 12th Infantry Regiment, and the 3rd Cavalry Regiment supported by 5 M1917 light tanks formed up on  Pennsylvania Ave. Thousands of Civil Service employees left work to line the streets to watch. The Bonus Marchers believed the troops were there to support them and cheered the troops. Until Patton gave the order to charge. The spectators yelled “Shame! Shame!”

After the Cavalry charged the Infantry with fixed bayonets and armed with tear gas entered the camps evicting veterans, families, and camp followers. The veterans fled across the river to their largest camp. Hoover ordered the assault to end. MacArthur ignored that order and order a new attack, calming the Bonusers who were attempting to overthrow the US Government. Fifty-five veterans were injured,  and one hundred and thirty-five were arrested. One veteran’s wife miscarried, and a 12-week-old child was killed in a tear gas attack. The cause of death was ruled from enteritis a hospital spokesperson said the tear gas “didn’t do any good.”

During this military operation then Major Dwight D. Eisenhower served as one of MacArthur’s junior aides would later claim. He believed it wrong for the Army’s highest ranking officer to lead an action against his fellow American war veterans, said he strongly advised MacArthur against taking any public role stating “I told that dumb son-of-a-bitch not to go down there,” and “I told him it was no place for the Chief of Staff.”

Although the troops were ready, Hoover twice sent instructions to MacArthur not to cross the Anacostia bridge that night, both of which were received. Shortly after 9 pm, MacArthur ordered Miles to cross the bridge and evict the Bonus Army from its encampment in Anacostia.

MacArthur’s Chief of Staff George Van Horn Mosley claimed he refused to follow orders and never delivered the orders to MacArthur. A claim disputed by Eisenhower., and Assistant Secretary of War for AirF. Trubee Davison, and Brigadier General Perry Miles.

The shacks in the Anacostia Camp were then set on fire, although who set them on fire is somewhat unclear. 

In the aftermath

Though the Bonus Army incident did not derail the careers of the military officers involved, it proved politically disastrous for Hoover, and it is considered a contributing factor to his losing the 1932 election in a landslide to Franklin D. Roosevelt 

Police Superintendent Glassford was not pleased with the decision to have the Army intervene, believing that the police could have handled the situation. He soon resigned as superintendent.

During the presidential campaign of 1932, Roosevelt opposed the veterans’ bonus demands. Despite his opposition to the marchers’ demand for immediate payment of the bonus, Roosevelt greeted them quite differently than Hoover had done. The administration set up a special camp for the marchers at Fort Hunt, Virginia, providing forty field kitchens serving three meals a day, bus transportation to and from the capital, and entertainment in the form of military bands.

Roosevelt arranged for his wife, Eleanor, to visit the site unaccompanied. She lunched with the veterans and listened to them perform songs. She reminisced about her memories of seeing troops off to World War I and welcoming them home. The most that she could offer was a promise of positions in the newly created Civilian Conservation Corps. (CCC)

On May 11, 1933, Roosevelt issued an executive order allowing the enrollment of 25,000 veterans in the CCC, exempting them from the normal requirement that applicants be unmarried and under the age of twenty-five. Congress, with democrats holding majorities in both houses, passed the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act in 1936, authorizing the immediate payment of the $2 billion in World War I bonuses, and then overrode Roosevelt’s veto of the measure. The House vote was 324 to 61, and the Senate vote was 76 to 19.

This was or is a long one, I hope you found it as interesting as I did. And as frightening. The last time action was taken against American citizens by their military the politics were a bit different. Today the democrats are the communists, they are the ones threatening to bring the military down on us. Not because we have done anything wrong, but because we believe differently than they do. They want to change the piece of paper we have used to establish our rule of law. joe biden says that no amendment is absolute and then accuses us of trying to change the Constitution.

I look forward to your comments.