28 JUL--This Day in US Military History

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 09:36:57 -0400

1932 – During the Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover orders the U.S. Army under General Douglas MacArthur to evict by force the Bonus Marchers from the nation’s capital.

Two months before, the so-called “Bonus Expeditionary Force,” a group of some 1,000 World War I veterans seeking cash payments for their veterans’ bonus certificates, had arrived in Washington, D.C. Most of the marchers were unemployed veterans in desperate financial straits. In June, other veteran groups spontaneously made their way to the nation’s capital, swelling the Bonus Marchers to nearly 20,000 strong. Camping in vacant government buildings and in open fields made available by District of Columbia Police Chief Pelham D. Glassford, they demanded passage of the veterans’ payment bill introduced by Representative Wright Patman.
While awaiting a vote on the issue, the veterans conducted themselves in an orderly and peaceful fashion, and on June 15 the Patman bill passed in the House of Representatives. However, two days later, its defeat in the Senate infuriated the marchers, who refused to return home.
In an increasingly tense situation, the federal government provided money for the protesters’ trip home, but 2,000 refused the offer and continued to protest. On July 28, President Herbert Hoover ordered the army to evict them forcibly. General MacArthur’s men set their camps on fire, and the veterans were driven from the city. Hoover, increasingly regarded as insensitive to the needs of the nation’s many poor, was much criticized by the public and press for the severity of his response.

https://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2005/07/29/july-28/

July 28

28 July 1746 - Thomas Heyward, soldier, signed Declaration of Independence, was born. 1863 - Confederate John Mosby began a series of attacks against General Meade's Army of the Potomac as it tried...

Response by SGT Forrest Stewart made Jul 28 at 2015 9:47 AM

SGT Forrest Stewart — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 09:47:18 -0400

What an awful thing to do to our Veterans.

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Jul 28 at 2015 9:48 AM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 09:48:45 -0400

MacArthur, Eisenhower and Patton were quite happy to use force against US Veterans.
http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/bonusm.htm

Response by MAJ Keira Brennan made Jul 28 at 2015 3:52 PM

MAJ Keira Brennan — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 15:52:11 -0400

I enjoy your posts~