History: The Bonus Army

[ThoughtCriminal]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_Army



The Bonus Army was a group of 43,000 demonstrators – made up of 17,000 U.S. World War I veterans, together with their families and affiliated groups – who gathered in Washington, D.C. in mid-1932 to demand early cash redemption of their service certificates. Organizers called the demonstrators the "Bonus Expeditionary Force", to echo the name of World War I's American Expeditionary Forces, while the media referred to them as the "Bonus Army" or "Bonus Marchers". The demonstrators were led by Walter W. Waters, a former sergeant.

Many of the war veterans had been out of work since the beginning of the Great Depression. The World War Adjusted Compensation Act of 1924 had awarded them bonuses in the form of certificates they could not redeem until 1948. Each certificate, issued to a qualified veteran soldier, bore a face value equal to the soldier's promised payment with compound interest. The principal demand of the Bonus Army was the immediate cash payment of their certificates.

On July 28, U.S. Attorney General William D. Mitchell ordered the veterans removed from all government property. Washington police met with resistance, shot at the protestors, and two veterans were wounded and later died. President Herbert Hoover then ordered the U.S. Army to clear the marchers' campsite. Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur commanded a contingent of infantry and cavalry, supported by six tanks. The Bonus Army marchers with their wives and children were driven out, and their shelters and belongings burned.

[tblue37]

1. K&R for visibility. nt

[The Blue Flower]

2. Posted this a short while ago--it was the end of Hoover's career

Il drumpf isn't smart enough to be afraid of what he's unleashing.

[captain queeg]

3. For those who think highly of MacArhur

Another ego maniac general. I suppose during time of war sometimes it’s not bad but a lot of these guys get troops killed unnecessarily. Montgomery and Market-Garden, Arnold being convinced Bombers didn’t need escorts. King being unwilling to listen to the British about how to handle u-boats. I could think of others.

But really I don’t think too many military men are going to support trump wanting to use troops. A lot of them have gone along with him because he’s inflated their budgets but are fairly ethical, in my opinion.

[marble falls]

4. When we were kids my grandmother would tell us to neaten up, that she wasn't taking ...

"Cox's Army" to the store with her. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Renshaw_Cox

This was in the 50's, and I still remember it. It got me really interested when I heard about the 'bonus army' in school in the sixties.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

5. My folks used that phrase also

Up to the mid '70s

[marble falls]

6. You'uns from Pittsburgh?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

7. I grew up up the Seattle area

My dad was from Brooklyn. My mom was from one of Chicago's industrial suburbs.

They both met while serving in the Navy.

[marble falls]

8. Anchors away, dude. I was Navy.