Posted on 08/05/2021 4:48:20 AM PDT by Kaslin
Given Santayana's warning to those who forget the past, there yet remains the problem of what to remember. Events during the summer of 1932 have frequently been remembered to promote some political cause. What follows is an outline of the incontrovertible facts that create their own perspective.
The context for these events begins with the demobilization of the WWI veterans and the problems of their re-integration into civilian society. In 1924, Congress overrode the veto of President Coolidge to enact the World War Adjusted Compensation Act, which included an insurance policy that could be redeemed for cash in 1945. President Coolidge had argued that existing programs were adequate to help the dependents of killed or disabled veterans and that the act would inevitably lead to a balloon payment in 1945, the effects of which could not be predicted in 1924. When the Depression hit, demands grew to pay the veterans immediately.
In May of 1932, about 300 veterans, led by Walter W. Waters, entered the yard of the Union Pacific Railroad in Portland, Oregon; refused to leave until they were allowed to ride in empty boxcars; and started on their way to Washington, D.C. to "lobby" for the immediate payment of their "bonuses." The news media began to follow their journey. This attention prompted local authorities and veterans' groups to help with their transportation, and by the end of May, they were on the outskirts of Washington. News coverage also inspired other veterans to join their march. Waters estimated that over 20,000 veterans, some with their wives and children, appeared within the next two weeks. Pelham Glassford, the district's chief of police, and President Hoover co-operated in accommodating the veterans by raising charitable contributions to set up their camps and kitchens.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
“The victor will always be the judge, and the vanquished the accused.”
My Grampa used to talk about that incident. He was a WWI combat veteran who received a serious leg wound from a German mauser and his sinuses were damaged from mustard gas. He was sympathetic with the protesters.
The GI bill ensured that many of these troops would slow the competition back into the job market by going to colleges and trade schools.
It worked because America was the only country that had free market capitalism and wasn't bombed into the Stone Age. By the time most of those veterans graduated, there were spots for them in the work force.
Forgotten Man--The Warner/Vitaphone Orchestra (1933)
Frank Greco, the writer of this piece, unfortunately used the propaganda version of the Bonus march, written by the communists at the NYT.
The vast majority of the bonus marchers struck camp and headed home after visiting congressional members. What remained was a communist cadre of agitators who had infiltrated the march. The commies occupied buildings under construction and used these buildings as a base to attack police. After several police were shot by the agitators, the military moved in and cracked commie heads.
The majority of people don’t know that the 1930s was the high point for communist agitation and violence in America, another fact hidden by our propaganda press.
These inconvenient facts expose the communist lie that our troops were used to attack veterans. In fact, the troops were used to put down a communist insurrection in the capitol. It’s that simple.
Anchor Wolf Blitzer said, “We can now see for ourselves in black and white just how serious this attempt was to overturn the results of a free and fair democratic election here in the United States. How dangerous was this effort?”
Bump
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