"War Is A Racket" by Smedley Butler
The Decorated Marine Who Opposed Foreign Wars After WW I
It seems that many military men, especially high ranking officers, are regarded as heroes in American history. Opposing the status quo is a sure way to be ignored by history, even for a Marine general with two Congressional Medals of Honor and other citations for heroism.
Smedley Butler's War Experience
Butler explains in his book that he had his suspicions during his military activities in Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and China, as well as France in WW I. But as a military man, he followed orders. As he retired, he reflected on his career and saw his role clearly, writing, " I began to think for myself ".
" I spent 33 years in the Marines," he writes, "most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism."
Butler was a man of integrity. He tried to return his first medal of honor because he felt too many were being given out for that particular campaign. He was ordered to accept it and even to wear it.
Though he came from a Quaker family, he was not a pacifist. He was a military man. He believed in fighting defensively for survival and to protect the Bill of Rights. All other fighting he considered a waste of human life.
He was against intervention leading to foreign wars for the benefit of the few who would gain financially from it. He was against war profiteering, profit from the suffering of many who are propagandized into fighting for the war profiteers' gain.
"The boys (soldiers) follow the flag, and the flag follows the money," is how he puts it. Butler was a passionate advocate of soldiers, insisting that they get paid as much as officers. He was appalled by the condition of soldiers returning from WW I.
Hooverville and The Bonus Army
In 1925, veterans of WW I were promised a bonus from the U. S. government in the form of a $1,000 bond that would mature in 20 years. In 1932, tens of thousands of WW I veterans converged on Washington DC to demand early payment of the war bonuses. They were compelled by poverty resulting from the great depression. Several thousand camped out, many with families, in an area within sight of the White House. They called it Hooverville.
The name Hooverville was a mockery of the president for that time, Herbert Hoover. Many were blaming him for the economic collapse. There were actually several other Hoovervilles scattered throughout the nation. But this one was a massive sit-in protest by WW I vets attempting to collect their bonus. They saw this as a means to help them ride out the depression.
Butler Encouraged the Bonus Army
Smedley Butler visited the bonus army Hooverville and gave speeches supporting their cause. He was a soldier's soldier, and firmly believed they should have the bonus paid earlier rather than later in 1945. Then the camp was destroyed in a charge led by Douglas MacArthur.
The violent destruction of that camp was a major embarrassment to the Hoover administration. Butler's outspoken support for the bonus army was noticed favorably by many average Americans. He became an activist against US foreign policy. He made speeches and gave lectures all throughout the nation.
Smedley Butler made waves and made enemies among high ranking politicians and government officials. He was soon a forgotten figure of American history, but his small, straight forward book, War Is A Racket, is in reprint and available from Amazon.com. It is considered a classic.
The Cost of War
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