Veterans Day Tribute – The BONUS Army

On June 22, 1944 , President Franklin D Roosevelt signed into law the GI Bill Of Rights that provided WWII veterans with funds for college education, unemployment insurance and housing.  The benefits were not due to government benevolence, far from it.  The genesis for the GI Bill of Rights began after WWI, when scores of veterans were attacked by the US Army and the DC Police in 1932 for requesting early payment of their WWI Bonus, instead of waiting 20 years to receive the full amount.

BACKGROUND STORY

After WWI, veterans organizations across the country lobbied Congress for extra pay to compensate for the differences between military and civilian pay incurred during service for WWI.  Back then, all service members were conscripted (drafted) into service and rank was determined by prior affiliation with service or by professional designation. Since most conscripts had no prior service and few had any professional designations (doctors, scientists, etc.), almost all were subject to the low pay of the military at that time.  Also, time served during the war had a direct impact on a veterans’ career development due to lost wages, lost promotions, and diminishment of skills.

In 1924, Congress approved the World War Adjusted Compensation Act,  known as the Bonus Act (Later nicknamed the Tombstone Bonus).  The bonuses were intended to be paid out by 1945, but due to the hardship of the Great Depression, veterans were demanding the bonus be paid early (1932) in an effort to offset the financial burdens of the Great Depression.  The fiscal climate at the time was focused on balancing budgets and the government was not open to incurring additional debt to make good “early” on a promise to veterans.

The veterans were not pleased with their political leaders in Washington and since they are inclined to mobilize, mobilizing is what they did.

THE BONUS ARMY

The easiest method to incite a group of disciplined men is to demand honor and sacrifice and not reciprocate it.   An unfortunate blur on American history occurred when 43,000 demonstrators, including 17,000 documented and verified patriotic veterans, formed the Bonus Expeditionary Force to march on Washington and demand early payment of their bonus from the Hoover administration, whom at the time were not keen on paying.

 

WHAT WAS THE BONUS?

Congress appropriated one dollar for each day of domestic service up to $500 USD – ($8,500 in 2022 dollars) and $1.25 for each day of overseas service up to a max of $625 ($10,760 in 2023 dollars). Deducted were $60 dollars each vet received upon discharge from service.  Amounts of $50 dollars or less were immediately paid, other amounts were issued as Certificates of Service due to expire in 20 years. Hoover and the Republican Congress rejected the early payouts because taxes would have been raised to cover the costs of the early payout, reducing economic growth. 

General Patton

[Photo Credit: The National Archives and Records Administration]

General MacArthur

[Photo Credit: U.S. Army] This is solid proof America is the land of second chances, even if you happen to work for the government.

The BONUS ARMY’S DC HEADQUARTERS

The BONUS Army soldiers, sailors and Marines created an encampment [Hooverville] on the Anacostia Flats in a muddy area away from the federal core of Washington, DC.  The use of the area as a campsite violated Federal law, but since it was on the African American side of the flat, the Superintendent of the DC Police Pelham D Glassford got a “special hookup” from Ulysses Grant III to use the encampment with minimal DC police interference.  To live in the camps, Bonus Army vets had to show proof of prior service.

Word on the street at that time was any camps erected near Georgetown would have to adhere to strict environmental regulations and would require a 10 year environmental impact study. [<- this is verified to be not true]

In 1932, the House passed the early payment of the Bonus, but the Senate rejected the bill 62-18.  Coincidentally, 6,000 veterans marched from the encampment to the US Capitol to witness this unfortunate turn of events.  As you can imagine, the vets were disappointed, but were determined to peacefully retreat back to camp. 

HOOVER ACTS TO SUPPRESS THE VETS

After the Senate vote, Washington, DC City Commissioners prodded president Hoover to order the clearing of the area rather than let the veterans disperse in an orderly fashion.  After losing the vote and being asked to leave under the threat of force, the veterans began to riot and the results were not favorable – to the vets. Two veterans were shot by DC police and Hoover made the extraordinary move by requesting the use of federal troops to disperse the Bonus Army.

To ensure the orderly dispersal of the alleged “miscreants”;  Hoover brought out the big guns: General Patton & General MacArthur.

MacArthur and Patton – yes, the famed WWII Generals; were called in to lead the US Army in dispersing the Bonus Army for good from the Capitol area and from the Anacostia encampment.  When the vets first saw MacArthur, they cheered, but after bayonets were pointed at them with a mix of heavily misted tear gas, the Bonus Army veterans reacted in horror at this level of betrayal. 55 veterans were injured and 135 were arrested. If you try to find this in high school history textbooks, you won’t and the reasons are obvious. 

 

Many conspiracy theories were in play at the time to justify the US Army attacking its own citizens – from communist infiltrations, integrationists that wanted to dismantle Jim Crow, to opportunistic career criminals looking for a gig. All of these groups were vilified as root causes for the riots. Hoover also alleged that non-veteran elements were involved adding to the misinformation at the time.  

Declassified information in 1991 debunks these allegations, but the tried and true blame on communism, race and crime were used to assuage any political backlash.  It was not a good look for MacArthur , who unleashed his inner “General Sherman” on the Bonus Army vets when he ordered the encampment to be burned down.  Despite his act of extreme arson, his military career remained intact.  General Eisenhower, who was a junior staffer that reported directly to MacArthur at the time explained to historian Stephen Ambrose what he thought of MacArthur’s antics : “I told that dumb son-of-a-bitch he had no business going down there”.

ROOSEVELT WAS NO HELP – INITIALLY

President Hoover, however, did not fare as well and in 1932, he would lose his reelection bid to Franklin D Roosevelt.  Bonus Army vets were not enthused by Roosevelt either as he too was not a fan of the early payment of the veterans Bonus.  In 1933, Roosevelt signed a compromise of sorts by allowing all veterans to enroll in the Civilian Conservation Corps, [CCC] a New Deal Era program designed to stimulate the economy.  Previously, CCC membership and employment was reserved for unmarried personnel.

With the political backlash intensifying – (who sends their own Army on their veterans?) Congress, with Democrats holding the majority in the House and the Senate passed the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act in 1936, which authorized immediate payment of $2 billion dollars in WWI bonuses. Roosevelt initially vetoed the act, but both the House and Senate overrode his veto and the bill became law in 1936.

ROOSEVELT ACTS TO AVOID ANOTHER BONUS ARMY FIASCO

Meredith Hindley from the National Endowment For The Humanities writes: On July 28, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt broached the subject of how veterans would be compensated during one of his fireside chats. After Roosevelt spoke to the American people about the progress being made in Europe—where “the criminal, corrupt Fascist regime in Italy is going to pieces”—he told listeners that he and his advisers had been “laying plans for the return to civilian life of our gallant men and women in the armed services.” He made a distinction between the sacrifices made by those on the home front and those in uniform, arguing that veterans would be “entitled to definite action to help take care of their special problems.”

“They must not be demobilized into an environment of inflation and unemployment, to a place on a bread line, or on a corner selling apples,” said the president. “We must, this time, have plans ready—instead of waiting to do a hasty, inefficient, and ill-considered job at the last moment.” By invoking the image of the breadline or selling apples on a corner to escape the shame of panhandling, Roosevelt reminded listeners of two unflattering images of World War I veterans. It was also a sly reference to the debacle known as the “Bonus Army.”

ENACTMENT

In the midst of the wartime economic boom, however, this promise of economic security failed to animate voters as it had a decade earlier. What did get voter attention was Roosevelt’s promise that returning GIs (a nickname for soldiers derived from their “general issue” uniforms) would be entitled to certain perks for their faithful service. With the assistance of the American Legion, the economic bill of rights was revamped as the GI Bill of Rights.

The key tenants of the GI Bill of Rights included:

Favorable Loans & Loan Terms
Congress in 1994 quickly agreed on loans for homes, farms, and businesses, with loans up to $2,000 fixed at a 4% interest rate to deter loan sharks.

Educational Benefits
Educational benefits had to begin within two years of discharge, limited to four years of schooling or training. Veterans could get up to $500 annually for tuition, along with a monthly stipend of $50 for single men and $75 for married men.

Unemployment Benefits
Unemployment benefits were settled at $20 per week for up to 52 weeks for jobless veterans

THE GOAT OF GOVERNMENT STIMULUS PROGRAMS – THE GI BILL

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