We Want Our Bonus Now!
Former World War I Sargent Walter Water set off from Portland Oregon in May 1932 on a 3,000 mile journey to Washington D.C. Soon joined by thousands of other World War I veterans, Water and his compatriots sought to claim the bonus that the Army was set to pay them, though not until 1945. The promise had simply become too distant for impatient and financially strapped men now unemployed under the worst economic conditions the country had faced. The gathering of 3,000 to 5,000 World War Veterans in Washington in the spring of 1932 came to be know as the Bonus Army. For over two months the it paraded, lobbied, and waited for Congress to deliberate on its demands, only to see them literally go up in smoke.
In Washington, the new Chief of Police, himself a World War I veteran, showed an initial willingness to help the veterans. For a time, Pelham Glassford was supported by President Hoover in this cautious approach. In fact Glassford became the secretary- treasurer for the growing group of men now camped in shacks and tents in the Anacostia Flats just south of the capitol. Quickly dubbed "Hooverville," the makeshift outpost soon became a subject of concern amongst authorities. Glassford himself became fearful the marchers might erupt in violence. Thus he began exploring with local officials and with President Hoover's cabinet, ways to suppress any violence before it erupted.
On June 17, the Senate failed 62-18 to enact a change in the date for payment of the bonus. This only emboldened the Army. Following this defeat, the Bonus Marchers, decided to dig in for an extended stay. After several weeks of jockeying between the encamped marchers and local and federal authorities, and spurred by reports of communist infiltrators among the squatters, the decision was made to forcibly evacuate the camps. Three of what were to be America's greatest World War II miltiary commanders were involved in the clearing. Under the command of General McArthur, the 3rd Cavalry Regiment led by Georeg S. Patton burned many of the shanties to the ground. Meanwhile, Dwight Eisenhower was serving as an assistant to McArthur during this same period.
The torching of Hooverville privately enraged Hoover, because he felt McArthur had been subordinate. But publicly he acknowledged the potential threat emerging from the continuance of the Bonus Army's occupation of the Anacostia flats. Following their forcible eviction, the marchers gradually began to return home empty handed. But their plight was soon dramatized in Yip Harburg's hit song Brother Can You Spare A Dime. And their determination motivated others across the nation to address the justness of their cause. In January 1936 the veterans finally won their bonus, nine years ahead of schedule.