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When 20,000 hungry veterans marched on Washington
The Bonus Army’s triumph and tragic end, and its legacy
In a shabby tent city located in Washington, D.C., World War I veterans and their families emerged from their makeshift shelters as the clop-clop sound of horses and the rhythmic tromp of marching feet approached. Women waved and children cheered as they saw hundreds of U.S. Army troops, replete with horse-mounted cavalry and shiny new tanks, rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Finally, some thought, the Army is showing support for our plight.
Suddenly, the column halted. The soldiers donned gas masks. The order, “Fix bayonets!” rang out. Turning toward the crowd, the soldiers charged.
It was July 28, 1932. The Bonus Army was about to be routed.
The plight of World War I veterans
Fewer than 100 years ago, veterans’ benefits were sparse and receiving them was not guaranteed. Soldiers, sailors and Marines who came home from the country’s wars — the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrections, and the First World War — had to petition for pensions and pay out of pocket for continuing medical care of wounds they’d sustained in battle. A few might find a place at a local soldiers’ home once they were too…
