The Bonus Army

"Here We Stay 'Til the Bonus They Pay."

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The March of the Bonus Army

  • November 11th, 1918: Armistice is signed, officially ending WWI
  • May 19th, 1924: World War Veterans Act/World War Adjusted Compensation Act made into federal law; deemed the "Tombstone Bonus"
  • January, 1929: Wright Patman's Veteran's Bill is introduced to Congress, but does not make it out of committee
  • January, 1931: Patman's Veteran's Bill reintroduced to Congress
  • February 26th, 1931: President Hoover vetos Patman's Veteran's Bill
  • March 15th, 1932: Walter W. Waters speaks of traveling to Washington, D.C. in support of a cash bonus to assembled veterans in Portland, OR
  • May 29th, 1932: Waters and his "Bonus Army" arrive in Washington, D.C.
  • June 8th, 1932: 8,000 veterans march through the streets of Washington, D.C. in peaceful protest
  • June 15th, 1932: Patman's Veteran's Bill passed by 209-179 House vote
  • June 17th, 1932: Patman's Veteran's Bill rejected by 62-18 Senate vote
  • July 28th, 1932: Police Chief Pelham D. Glassford ordered to evict soldiers from federal buildings on Pennsylvania Ave.
  • July 28th, 1932: Secretary of War Douglas MacArthur called to restore order after panicked policemen incite a riot with two fatal gun shots
  • July 28th, 1932: Disregarding presidential order, MacArthur uses US troops to clear out all veterans, utilizing tear gas, tanks and bayonets
  • July 29th, 1932: Camps burned and destroyed, the Bonus Army disperses, goals unachieved
  • September 2nd, 1935: "Labor Day" Hurricane hits the Key West veteran work camps
  • June 22nd, 1944: FDR signs Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, or G.I Bill, finally securing veteran benefits

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Melissa Haney
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