Forgotten History: When The U.S. Army Attacked Veterans In Washington D.C.
There are many fascinating pieces of U.S. history that have been forgotten. One such moment in history happened 78 years ago today. On July 28, 1932, the United States Army attacked and killed U.S. World War I veterans in Washington, D.C.
Approximately 17,000 WWI veterans and another 25,000 family members had amassed in the nation's capitol in May, 1932 to demand the immediate payment of service certificates. The service certificates were similar to U.S. bonds, payable with interest at a future date, and had been issued to WWI veterans in 1924, but could not be redeemed until 1945. The rag tag group of veterans nicknamed themselves the "Bonus Army".
This was during the height of The Great Depression, and the veterans were out of work. The small amount of money promised them (up to $500-$625) per person seems crazy now, but it represented life and death at the time to thousands of people.
By June, 1932, the House had passed a bill to give the veterans their full payment immediately. But on June 17th, the Senate voted against the bill, 62-18, leaving thousands of veterans angry and stranded in the city with no money or jobs.
The veterans continued protesting throughout the city, and having built two of their own mini-cities, or camps, with makeshift shacks from rubbish retrieved from a garbage dump, promised not to leave until they received their money.
The largest camp was at Anacostia Falls, now Anacostia Park, near the federal buildings in downtown Washington, D.C. The camps had shacks, streets laid out, sanitation, and the veterans held daily parades. They even required any veteran who wanted to live in the camp to register and prove they had been honorably discharged.
But by late July, Washington's powers that be decided they had had enough. The veterans were not getting their money and it was time for them to leave.
What happened next is a dark moment in American history, that understandably has been buried in the past...
"On 28 July, 1932, Attorney General Mitchell ordered the police evacuation of the Bonus Army veterans. When they resisted the police shot at them, killing two. When told of this, President Hoover ordered the army to effect the evacuation of the Bonus Army from Washington.
At 4:45 p.m., commanded by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the 12th Infantry Regiment, Fort Howard, Maryland, and the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, supported by six battle tanks commanded by Maj. George S. Patton, Fort Myer, Virginia, formed in Pennsylvania Avenue while thousands of civil service employees left work to line the street and watch the U.S. Army attack its own veterans. The Bonus Marchers, believing the display was in their honor, cheered the troops until Maj. Patton ordered the cavalry to charge them—an action which prompted the civil service spectators to yell, "Shame! Shame!"
After the cavalry charged the infantry, with fixed bayonets and adamsite gas, entered the camps, evicting veterans, families, and camp followers. The veterans fled across the Anacostia River to their largest camp and President Hoover ordered the assault stopped. However Gen. MacArthur, feeling this exercise was a Communist attempt at overthrowing the U.S. government, ignored the President and ordered a new attack. Hundreds of veterans were injured and several killed—including William Hushka and Eric Carlson. A veteran's wife miscarried."
General's MacArthur, Patton, and Eisenhower, who would become heroes in World War II, were all involved in the attack on our own veterans.
The veterans fled Washington, D.C., but the story doesn't end there. The fallout from the bloody attack helped propel Franklin D. Roosevelt to defeat President Herbert Hoover in the 1932 Presidential election. However, FDR also refused to issue early payment to the veterans, and the Bonus Army returned to protest yet again in Washington, D.C.
This time Eleanor Roosevelt met with some of the veterans and convinced many of them to take federal jobs in Florida building a new highway connecting the mainland to the Florida Keys.
What seemed like a peaceful solution would turn deadly.
In September, 1935, 258 veterans building the highway were killed during the Labor Day Hurricane. Public sentiment built in support of paying the veterans, and Congress, now facing another election year, passed a new bill to pay the vets early and in full in 1936. FDR promptly vetoed the bill, but Congress overturned FDR's veto and paid the veterans.
Years later, in 1945, not wanting a repeat of the Bonus Army disaster, Congress passed the G.I. Bill for veterans returning home from World War II.
For additional reading on the Bonus Army, see Semp.us.
at 12:01 AM
Labels: Forgotten History
Home
