Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler

[griloco]

My uncles all fought in WWII to defeat Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito.

These heroes of The Greatest Generation could have easily fought for those three if not for Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler who at the time of his death, Butler was the most decorated Marine in U.S. history.

1n 1934, General Butler "testified under oath that wealthy businessmen were plotting to create a fascist veterans' organization with him as its leader and use it in a coup d'état to overthrow Roosevelt."

"When the committee's final report was released, the Times said the committee "purported to report that a two-month investigation had convinced it that General Butler's story of a Fascist march on Washington was alarmingly true" "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot#:~:text=The%20Business%20Plot%2C%20also%20called,install%20Smedley%20Butler%20as%20dictator.

[Biophilic]

1. Damn, I forgot about General Butler and his heroism.

[brush]

2. It was called the American Liberty League. Prescott Bush, Pierre DuPont, Alfred Sloan of GM...

Al Smith and others were members who liked how the trains ran on time in Italy and the stories coming out of Hitler's Germany. They all wanted to stop FDR's New Deal policies and install fascism here.

General Butler exposed their businessman coup attempt and saved the nation from fascism in the '30s. FDR, no fool, used Gen. Butler's info as leverage against the industrialists. He threatened to exposed them if they kept opposing his New Deal programs.

Fascism reared up again in the early '40s as Rachel Maddow wrote about in her recent book.

The two movements petered out but here we are again with the trump/Heritage Foundation Project 2025.

We must defeat these bastards yet again.

[Boomerproud]

3. I haven't been in school for eons but I hope this is in history books.

I don't know anyone who knows who General Butler is. Tragic really.

[griloco]

8. The link is in the post

Just start spreading it.

[GreenWave]

4. Copy sources as they are slowly eroding them.

I didn't do this with Trump's Nazi relative photo. Now I cannot find it. Buried or deleted,

[NameAlreadyTaken]

5. My grandparents knew him, I believe.

My grandfather served in the Marine Corps from around 1905 until about 1940, then re-enlisted when Pearl Harbor happened, but died of heart failure in 1944 at the age of 58. That was the same age as Gen. Butler died at four years earlier. Sadly, I never met either of these great men as they both died long before I was born.
When I was a kid, I heard the name "Smedley Butler" mentioned in the household now and then, and I thought the adults were talking about some cartoon character. I never understood who he was until years later. The Marine Corps was much smaller and more close-knit in the 1920s and 1930s than it is today. My sister once explained to me that my grandmother was "very much the grand dame" and active in social circles in the USMC in the San Diego area, as my grandfather was the commander of Camp Matthews in the 1920s. My grandmother ran the "Hostess House" on the base in San Diego for some period of time. I'm sure that my grandparents at least crossed paths with Gen. Butler and likely were friends with him.
I have whole albums of old photos my grandfather took as well as photos of social gatherings at the San Diego house my grandparents lived in, photos featuring my grandparents and later including my mother. I haven't been able to specifically identify Gen. Butler in any of the photos from the house. But because I heard the name mentioned so much as a kid, I suspect they were friends with him. I regret not knowing more years ago and asking my grandmother about him while I had many chances to during her lifetime.

[dmr]

6. This is fascinating, and I bet those photos are

fascinating as well. I would love to see them.

It's sad to know that when I was young I didn't really listen, or ask questions of my elders. I could have learned about, and appreciated their life stories, and the times in which they lived.

What I wouldn't give for the ability to have a few more chats with my dad. I do cherish the ones we did have. But I wish I had listened more closely and asked questions. Questions that I think about today, but have no answers.

Anyway, I enjoyed reading your post, and wanted to let you know.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

7. Thank you

I have scanned a few of the photos, primraily the ones including my Mother, who joined the Marines in 1942, the first year women were allowed to be acrive duty Marines and not just in the reserves. One of my favorites is of my Mother and her father both in their uniforms on the front porch. I'll look for those and post them here.

[griloco]

11. I look forward to them

If Butler hadn't stopped them, your mother would have been fighting for Hitler.
Let it be known

[dmr]

13. I'm looking forward to them.

If you remember, I'd appreciate a message and link, otherwise I'm afraid I'd miss them -- and I don't want to do that!

[griloco]

9. Thanks.

Best thing to do is personalize his story and spread it keeping in mind Putin won't stop with Ukraine.

[griloco]

10. Thanks

Best thing to do is personalize his story and spread it keeping in mind Putin won't stop with Ukraine.

[griloco]

12. We all have those regrets.

He's the epitome of
Semper Fi