Today in Military History: July 28, 1932:Great War Veterans Seeking Their Bonuses March on Nation's Capital, are Dispersed by US Army Units

 by Siggurdsson

Today's military story involves veterans of the "Great War" (aka the First World War) petitioning their government for a redress of grievances being met with bayonets, tear gas, and tanks. The background story to all this is fascinating…and a bit depressing.
Background
In late 1918 and early 1919, American soldiers returned from active duty in France, were mustered out, and pretty much left to fend for themselves. With the help of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the newly-formed American Legion, Congress passed a measure entitled the "World War Adjusted Compensation Act." [President Calvin Coolidge had vetoed the measure on May 15, 1924, saying "Patriotism…bought and paid for is not patriotism."] A few days later, Congress overrode his veto, enacting the measure into law.

Under the provisions of the Act, each veteran was to receive a dollar for each day of domestic service, up to a maximum of $500, and $1.25 for each day of overseas service, up to a maximum of $625 (In 2010 adjusted dollars, that is $7,899). Amounts of $50 or less were immediately paid. All other amounts were issued as Certificates of Service maturing in 20 years.

Official portrait of Pres. Calvin Coolidge
Oil on canvas by Charles S. Hopkinson (1932)

The estate of a deceased veteran could be paid his award immediately if the amount was less than $500. All others were awarded an "adjusted service certificate," which functioned like an insurance policy. Based on standard actuarial calculations, the value of a veteran's certificate was set as the value of a 20-year insurance policy equal to 125 percent of the value of his service credit. Certificates were to be awarded on the veteran's birthday no earlier than January 1, 1925, and redeemable in full on his birthday in 1945, with payments to his estate if he died before then. Certificate holders were allowed to use them as collateral for loans under certain restrictions.
Over 3,6 million military service certificates were issued, with a face value of $3.638 billion (2010 value: $43.7 billion). Congress established a trust fund to receive 20 annual payments of $112 million that, with interest, would finance the 1945 disbursement of the $3.638 billion due the veterans. Meanwhile, veterans could borrow up to 22.5 percent of the certificate's face value from the fund; but in 1931, because of the Great Depression, Congress increased the maximum value of such loans to 50 percent of the certificate's face value. Although there was congressional support for the immediate redemption of the military service certificates, President Herbert Hoover and Republican congressmen opposed such action; they reasoned that the government would have to increase taxes to cover the costs of the payout, and thus any potential recovery would be slowed.
But Hoover's reluctance to allow any payouts to the suffering veterans was set in stone. Meanwhile, nationwide unemployment had reaced 23.6 percent, with 12 million jobless (out of a workforce of 51 million.
"Bonus Army" and Walter Waters
The leader of the Bonus Army was Walter W. Waters. Waters was born in Burns, OR in 1898. He served in the Idaho National Guard against "Pancho" Villa. In 1917 he served in the Oregon National Guard, shipping to France on Christmas Eve, 1917 to fight in World War I. He received an honorable discharge in 1919. In 1925 he moved to Washington and then Portland, OR looking for work. He picked fruit and worked in a cannery. Wherever he went he listened to veterans unable to find work who were also not being paid for services rendered in war. He met many other veterans who had lost their jobs and savings after the war. Walters noted that special interest lobbyists got results in Washington, and conceived of a lobby of veterans to encourage the United States Government to deliver the payment the veterans were due.
On March 11, 1932 Waters called for a march on Washington and 250-300 men from Portland joined him. They marched behind a banner reading, "Portland Bonus March – On to Washington." The veterans and their families had popular support and the support of some authorities. A Portland railroad offered the use of dung-stained cattle cars to transport the Bonus Army. The Indiana National Guard and the Pennsylvania National Guard used military vehicles to transport the Bonus Army. Toll bridge operators let the Bonus Army march silently across bridges without pay, and police officers refused to arrest Bonus Army veterans for trespassing. Thousands joined the Bonus Army as it marched towards Washington with Sergent Waters as their elected leader. Waters forbade drinking, panhandling, and ‘anti-government' or ‘radical' talk.
When Waters and his Bonus Army arrived in Washington, DC in late May 1932, their estmated strength was twenty thousand (family members and "camp followers" may have swollen the numbers further). The veterans and their families camped in buildings abandoned during the Great Depression and in giant shantytowns. [The largest, most organized shantytown, or "Hooverville" was located within sight of the U.S. Capitol building on the Anacostia Flats, a swampy, muddy area. It was organized like an Army camp, with tents and shacks laid out with neat streets, sanitation areas carefully laid out and built, and daily formations were held to keep the Bonus Marchers out of trouble.]

Bonus March "Hooverville" on Anacostia Flats, Washington DC Photograph by Theodor Horydczak, in the Prints and Photograph Division Of Library of Congress

Communists showed up at the shantytowns and agitated for their cause among the veterans. In reply, Bonus Army veterans seized the communists, held trials and sentenced them to fifteen lashes. More than two hundred communists were expelled from the Bonus Army camps. But supporters who were not communists showed up at the shantytown with material support. Among them were eight German soldiers, each having fought against US soldiers, each wounded twice or more in World War I, all naturalized citizens and bearing a total of eight tons of food and supplies for the Bonus Army
Prelude
During the months of May, June, and early July, the Bonus Marchers held rallies, marched in the streets of the Nation's Capital, and generally tried to persuade Congress and President Hoover to see things their way. On June 4, the B.E.F. marched in full force down the streets of Washington.  Veterans filled their representative's waiting rooms, while others gathered outside the Capitol building. On June 14, the bonus bill, opposed by Republicans loyal to President Hoover, came to the floor. When Rep. Edward Eslick (TN) was speaking in support of the bill, he suddenly fell dead of a heart attack. Thousands of Bonus Army veterans marched in his funeral procession. On June 15, the House passed the measure sponsored by Representative Wright Patman (TX) which would have allowed for the immediate disbursment of the veterans' bonuses. However, two days later the Senate defeated the bill by a vote of 62-18. Congress adjourned shortly afterward for the summer. As a result of this latest defeat, many veterans left Washington and returned home. But many others remained, with no prospects at home and nothing to look forward to, many veterans and their families remained in their campsites, awaiting some action by the White House.

Bonus Marchers block steps of U.S. Capitol, July 5, 1932
Image courtesy of http://www.ushistory.org/us/48c.asp

DC Police Attempt to Evict Bonus Marchers
After the defeat of the latest bonus bill, many Bonus Marchers became a more aggressive in their lobbying efforts. The D.C. Police and the FBI were convinced that their were communist sympathizers inside the many Bonus camps, but their suspicions were unfounded. However, President Hoover was desperate to remove these men from the Capitol area, looking for any pretext. He was convinced the situation would deteriorate into an insurrection nationwide.
Early on June 28, Hoover gave orders to D.C. police chief Glassford – himself a Great War veteran – to have the Bonus Marchers cleared out of abandoned building and smaller camps in downtown DC. Nearly every DC policeman was called out to begin the eviction. At about noon, a group of veterans confronted a phalanx of 100 policeman, with a short, violent skirmish following. The veterans threw bricks, and the police responded with their night sticks. When the patrolmen entered a building occupied by the veterans, a gunfight broke out. When it was over, one veteran was dead and another mortally wounded, who later died in the hospital. The dead veterans were William Hushka – a Lithuanian immigrant – and Eric Carlson from Oakland, CA. [Both men were subsequently buried in Arlington National Cemetery.]
Army Removes Bonus Marchers, with Bayonets, Tear Gas, and Tanks
After these incidents, Hoover ordered his Army Chief of Staff, General Douglas MacArthur to turn out elements of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and the 12th Infantry Regiment. Supporting these two units were 6 Renault FT-17 tanks and a motorized machine gun detachment. [The tanks were under the command of Major George S. Patton, Jr.] At about 4:30 pm, the two Army units totalling 1000 men began marching down some of the major streets of the Nation's Capitol, heading for the abandoned building where the shooting incident occurred. Many federal office workers left their jobs to see the spectacle. Many Bonus Marchers, thinking the "parade" was in their honor, began cheering. When Major Patton ordered the cavalry to charge the Bonus Marchers, many of the spectators began chanting, "Shame! Shame!"

Renault FT-17 tank
On display at Royal Military History Museum,
Brussels, Belgium

The infantry, wielding fixed bayonets and tossing tear gas bombs, was then ordered to charge the disordered veteans, driving them out of the occupied building and the smaller shantytowns. Many of the veterans, their families, and camp followers headed eastward for the main Anacostia Flats Hooverville. Once the Bonus Marchers were cleared from downtown Washington, President Hoover sent word to Gen. MacArthur – was in actual on-site command of the operation – to cease his attacks on the Bonus Marchers.
However, MacArthur's blood was up, and he ordered his men to evict the Bonus Marchers from the Anacostia shantytown. They then began to tear down and burn the tents and shanties. Many Bonus Marchers lost their personal belongings, and began the sad journey back home.
Aftermath
In addition to the two veteran fatalities, over 1000 Bonus Marchers were treated at local hospitals for various injuries, including gas inhalation. About 150 veterans were arrested on various charges. At least 69 policemen were injuried in the confrontations.
Footnote #1: Upon learning of the Bonus Army incident, Franklin D. Roosevelt remarked: "Well, this will elect me." Roosevelt was correct; he buried Hoover in the November general election, winning 22,809,638 popular votes to Hoover's 15,758,901, and 472 to 59 electoral votes, making the 1932 presidential election one of the biggest Electoral College landslides in American history. In addition, the Democrats won commanding majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Footnote #2: After FDR's election and inauguration, another group of disgruntled veterans came to the Nation's Capital in 1933. Rather than the confrontation of the previous year, Roosevelt sent his wife Eleanor to listen to the veterans' grievances. She offered the men positions in the new Civilian Conservation Corps, which many men accepted. One veteran commented, "Hoover sent the Army, Roosevelt sent his wife."
Footnote #3: Congress, with Democrats holding majorities in both chambers, passed the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act of 1936, authorizing the immediate payment of the $2 billion in WWI 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.
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