Some veterans retreated to Camp Bartlett, figuring they might be left in peace there, for the government’s orders were to clear federal land, while Camp Bartlett was on private property. In May 1932 thousands of World War I veterans began gathering in Washington, D.C., in order to pressure Congress to pass the Patman Bonus Bill. By the end of the day, 55 veterans had been injured and 135 arrested. They marched to Washington and set up public camps and erected shacks on vacant lots. In May 1932, Waters and a number of unemployed World War I veterans organized a group they called the Bonus Expeditionary Forces—or Bonus Army—to march in Washington, D.C. After victory in World War I, the US government promised in 1924 that servicemen would receive a bonus for their service, in 1945. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. The bonus was also known as the “Tombstone Bonus.” Then, the Great Depression hit, beginning with the stock market collapse of 1929. By June 1, some 1,500 men, some with their families, were in Washington. One claimed, “We hate this more than they do, but they brought it on themselves.”. Listen to music by The Bonus Army on Apple Music. Dickson and Allen speculate about why the episode is not more widely known. On January 27, President Roosevelt vetoed the bill, but Congress immediately voted to override the veto. Two years later, hundreds of Pennsylvania war veterans marched on Philadelphia, then the capital, surrounded the State House where the U.S. Congress was in session, and demanded their pay. The tale of the “Bonus Army” is the story of one of the dark chapters of our American government. In protest to the Senate’s action, the Bonus Army veterans marched down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol Building. Veterans, along with the assistance of the D.C. Police, maintained order in the camps, built military-style sanitation facilities, and held orderly daily protest parades. Other Significant Dates:- June 17, 1932: U.S. Senate defeated a bill that would have advanced the date of payment of bonuses to the veterans. His troops included infantry and cavalry and numbered 800, though an additional 2,700 were kept in reserve nearby, in case they were needed. Bonus Army. While Hoover’s militaristic treatment of the Bonus Army veterans may have contributed to his defeat, Roosevelt had also opposed the veterans’ demands during the 1932 campaign. Curtis shouted back, “You cowards, I’m not afraid of any of you.”. Active Army Enlistment Bonus: Qualified active duty recruits may be eligible for a combination of bonuses totaling up to $40,000.The maximum bonus for a three, four, five, or six-year contract is based on periodic updates and is subject to change. The troops were led by General Douglas MacArthur, who would later serve in World War II and in the Korean War. Inspired by the Portland group, other Bonus Army units formed in communities across the country. But Congress held fast, and local health officials began to fear an outbreak of disease in tent … Noah Williams. Out of sheer desperation, some of the veterans decided to march on Washington to ask for the bonus right away. The Bonus Army An American Epic Paul Dickson and Thomas B. Allen In the summer of 1932, at the height of the Depression, some forty-five thousand veterans of World War I descended on Washington, D.C., from all over the country to demand the bonus promised them eight years earlier for … The bonus was also known as the “Tombstone Bonus.” Then, the Great Depression hit, beginning with the stock market collapse of 1929. As World War I drew to a close in 1918, millions of American veterans returned home to the promise of a cash bonus — compensation for their overseas service. On the morning of July 28, 1932, President Hoover, in his capacity as Commander in Chief of the military, ordered his Secretary of War Patrick J. Hurley to clear the Bonus Army camps and disperse the protesters. If the movement had an official beginning, it would have been in Portland, Oregon. The World War Adjusted Compensation Act, passed by Congress as sort of a 20-year insurance policy, awarded all qualified veterans a redeemable “Adjusted Service Certificate” worth an amount equal to 125% of his wartime service credit. Bonus army definition, a group of 12,000 World War I veterans who massed in Washington, D.C., the summer of 1932 to induce Congress to appropriate moneys for the payment of bonus certificates granted in 1924. Patton now said, “Undoubtedly this man saved my life, but his several accounts of the incident vary from the true facts.”. The Bonus Army was a massive group of WW1 military veterans who, during the Great Depression, made their way to Washington D.C. and set up makeshift camps on areas such as the Anacostia Flats. A total of 55 veterans were injured and another 135 were arrested. At 4:45 p.m., U.S. Army infantry and cavalry regiments under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, supported by six M1917 light tanks commanded by Maj. George S. Patton, assembled on Pennsylvania Avenue to carry out President Hoover’s orders. This is an ugly piece of American history that has been swept under the rug. Most of the veterans who marched on the Capitol in 1932 had been out of work since the Great Depression began in 1929. Hoovervilles: Homeless Camps of the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover: Thirty-First President of the United States. One of the exceptions was the Bonus army in March of 1932. They called themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Forces. Key Participants:- President of the United States Herbert Hoover- U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur- U.S. Army Major George S. Patton- U.S. Secretary of War Patrick J. Hurley- District of Columbia Police Department- At least 17,000 U.S, WWI veterans and 45,000 supporting protesters, Location: In and around Washington, D.C., and the United States Capitol grounds, Start Date: May 1932End Date: July 29, 1932. Then, on July 28, the Hoover administration sent in the army and police to expel the marchers from Washington. Ultimately, the events of the Bonus Army veterans’ march on Washington contributed to the enactment in 1944 of the GI Bill, which has since assisted thousands of veterans make the often difficult transition to civilian life and in some small way pay back the debt owed to those who risk their lives for their country. One of the exceptions was the Bonus army in March of 1932. When the veterans retreated back across the river to the Hooverville camp, President Hoover ordered the troops to stand down until the next day. … He also blamed the removal order for causing all the trouble, and had opposed the use of troops. Hitching rides, hopping trains, and hiking finally brought the Bonus Army, now 15,000 strong, into the capital in June 1932. While the veterans might have been happy to wait for their bonuses when the Adjusted Compensation Act passed in 1924, the Great Depression came along five years later and by 1932 they had immediate needs for the money, like feeding themselves and their families. of War Hurley, U.S. Army troops commanded by Maj. George S. Patton attack the veterans forcing them from their encampments and effectively ending the crisis. On January 22, 1936, both houses of Congress passed the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act in 1936, appropriating $2 billion for the immediate payment of all World War I veterans’ bonuses. 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