Army Troops and Tanks Roll

In the melee that followed, one veteran grabbed a policeman's nightstick. The officer, George A. Shinault, drew his gun and fatally shot two veterans, William Hushka and Eric Carlson. As ambulances carried away the fatally wounded men, General Douglas MacArthur was assembling Army troops on the Ellipse.

World War I veteran's scuffle with Washington D.C. police on July 28, 1932.

Troops from Fort Myer and Fort Washington, along with a contingent of cavalrymen and tanks, positioned themselves to quell the disturbance. At 4pm, more than 200 soldiers on horseback, sabers drawn, descended on Pennsylvania Avenue from 15th Street and headed toward the Capitol Building.

  
General Douglas MacArthur directs the attack on the veterans, as tanks and cavalry move down Pennsylvania Avenue.

The infantry with fixed bayonets followed, donning gas masks and lobbing tear gas. As the tanks rolled along behind the cavalry, Pennsylvania Avenue was cleared with brutal efficiency. Tanks rolled over the shacks while the occupants set fires, then ran with their belongings.

Veteran's Camp Destroyed

At 9pm, General MacArthur ordered his men to march on the main encampment at Anacostia. Ignoring direct orders from the president to stand down, the general sent his tanks to block the bridge and troops to raise the drawbridge, cutting off the veterans.

  
Troops with fixed bayonets use tear gas to forcefully disperse the veterans.

A National Guard unit turned a searchlight on the pitch-dark camp. As people panicked, infantrymen entered and lobbed tear gas. Moving down the rows of huts, the soldiers lit folded newspapers and systematically torched the camp.

With the camp destroyed and the veterans dispersed, the troops stood down and the incident came to an end. Casualties amounted to over one hundred, including the two dead veterans.

  
The encampment at Anacostia burns with the Capitol Dome and Washington Monumnent towering above in the distance.

In a news conference later that evening, MacArthur defended his actions on the grounds that the Bonus Army was guilty of subversion, and that they were a threat to "take over the government in an arbitrary way or by indirect means."

In addition to General MacArthur, other notable U.S. Army personnel involved in the intervention was the general's junior aide, Major Dwight D. Eisenhower and tank commander Major George S. Patton. In a story full of bitter ironies, these officers had undoubtedly attacked veterans who had served honorably with them during the war.

Escaping Judgement

With the rout of their main camp, the Bonus March had come to an end. The shantytown burnt to the ground, the veterans left the Capital City and went back to their homes, without their war bonuses. Despite the overwhelmingly negative public response to the actions of the Army, the officers involved were not reprimanded.

The ruins of the veteran's encampment on August 8, 1932.

President Hoover, however, did not escape judgement. His handling of the marchers was a political disaster, and was a contributing factor in his crushing election loss in November 1932, despite Franklin D. Roosevelt's opposition to granting the War Bonuses.

The Second Bonus March

A second Bonus March was organized in May 1933. This time the protestors were treated respectfully, provided with a campsite and three meals a day. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the site daily.

Pittsburgh Press - May 11, 1933

Despite the good will, the president continued to oppose granting the bonuses. Instead, he offered 25,000 veterans jobs with the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Adjusted Compensation Payment Act

Finally, in 1936, Congress passed the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act, authorizing the immediate payment of the $2 billion in World War I bonuses, payable in interest bearing government bonds, then overrode a presidential veto of the measure.

Congressman Edwin A. Halsey signs the Adjusted Compensation Act of 1936.

Ironically, President Calvin Coolidge also vetoed the original World War Adjusted Compensation Act of 1924, only to be overridden by the Congress.

Bonus time had come, and veteran's around the country eagerly awaited its arrival in the mail.

Bonus Day in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Press on Tuesday, June 16, 1936, reported that veteran's were jamming official pay stations for their bonuses. The former soldiers swarmed into the district centers, twenty-three of which were set up throughout the city. Postal workers, who were in charge of the distribution process, worked into the late hours to handle the volume of requests.

The postal service reported that 95% of the War Bonus bonds, varying in amount based on the individual serviceman, were delivered the previous day.

Fifteen month old Carroll Ann Letzkus holds the
envelope that holds several hundred dollars
of bonds for her daddy, John Letzkus,
of 1119 Chelton Avenue, Brookline.

Fearing a rush on cash reserves, authorities advised the veterans not to cash the bonds right away unless necessary.

These cautionary warnings did nothing to stop a large number of the vets from demanding payment in full on the spot. False propaganda fueled the rush by claiming that the service certificates awarded were non-transferable, even in case of death.

Other leaflets warned bonuse recipients to be wise and cautious with their windfall. "A whole horde of financial sharpers is loose, anxious to induce veterans to 'invest' their bonus money in all sorts of schemes."

The Gold Rush of 1936 began on June 16. This photo shows a group of veterans and postal workers at the certification
station in the old Post Office Building in Pittsburgh. These ex-servicemen were surrendering their bonds for a check.

To receive the money, the veteran had to present himself and his bonds, be identified by his postal commander or someone known to the certifying officer, obtain a receipt and await a treasury check that would be mailed to his place of residence.

As easy as it sounded, the certifying process was cumbersome. Each bond presented, and that could be up to thirty per person, had to be signed by the veteran, the identifying witness and the certifying official, with the receipt signed by the official.

As the day went on, the lines of anxious vets grew longer. Despite the heavy volume of bond redemption, well into the thousands at centers across the city, the anticipated cash drain did not materialize.

Mailman Howard J. Hardt knows how Amico Iannacchione feels when he receives his bonus bonds. Mr. Hardt,
shown with Amico, his wife and three children, was also a serviceman and a bonus recipient.

Bonus Day in Brookline

In the same June 16, 1936 edition of the Pittsburgh Press, correspondents around the South Hills reported on the enthusiasm shown by veteran's and their families upon receipt of their bonds.

"Here Comes Bonus Man' - And There Goes Gloom!" was the headline as millions of dollars poured into the laps of city veterans to be used to pay debts, buy clothes, finance homes and other needs or desires.

Postmen made special rounds with their sacks stuffed with square brown envelopes containing adjusted compensation certificates (bonds).

In neighborhoods like Mount Lebanon, Dormont and Brookline, men and their families sat on front porches awaiting the arrival of the postal worker. With most veterans expecting more than $500, it was well worth the wait. Many took the afternoon off work so that they would be there when the package arrived.

The whole Hoelle family, of 1509 Creedmoor Avenue, turned out yesterday to greet the mailman, John W. Slayton,
as he delivered bonus bonds to John H. Hoelle. Mrs. Hoelle and her six children were delighted.

Nearly 100,000 packages were delivered, and the delivery men, although working overtime, found it a joyous affair all around. Many said they got as much pleasure from the experience as they would playing Santa Claus to the families on their routes.

Here in Brookline, Postman John W. Slayton, had approximately $35,000 worth of bonuses in his pack. Slayton knew most of his customers and spent a few moments with many of them, listening to their families talking about how they were going to spend their money. The phrase he heard most was "Don't think I can't use this. Things have been pretty tough!"

  
Mailman John W. Slayton stops at the Creedmoor Avenue home of Fred E. Backer (left), whose wife and daughter
were also on hand to greet the "Bonus Man." Slayton later met with Charles Haas, of 1127 Creedmoor Avenue.

A group of small boys accosted Postman Slayton, as he made his rounds through the streets of Brookline, asking for their bonus packets.

"You'll have to join the Veterans of Future Wars," advised the carrier. With a touch of bitter irony, some of these boys may well have gone on to serve in the next World War, or in Korea.

Most information and photos from the Pittsburgh Press - June 16, 1936;
Updated - November 24, 2018

Corporal Jayson Patrick Ferns
United States Marine Corps (1918-1919)

My great-grandfather Jayson Patrick Ferns, father of my mother's mother, served as a Corporal in Company A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, known as the "Cannon Cockers," during the Great War.

Jayson was born on June 13, 1889, to Patrick and Alice Ferns of Greensburg, both immigrants from England. On July 13, 1918, at age twenty-nine, Jayson enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in Pittsburgh. After basic training at Parris Island, he was sent to Quantico VA for artillery training.

Before the war, Jayson worked with his father, Patrick, as a machinist at Westinghouse Air Brake. He met and married my great-grandmother, Mae Spachtolz Smith, and at the time of his departure the couple were expecting their first child.

On September 18, 1918, the 1st Battalion sailed for France, arriving at Brest on October 13. The artillerymen arrived too late to see combat, as the Germans were on the run and the armistice signed less than a month later, on November 11, 1918.

Instead, the 11th Marines were stationed outside the town of Tours guarding supply lines and equipment in support of the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Had the Germans not capitulated, the artillerymen would have been ready for the planned Allied Spring Offensive. While stationed at Tours, Jayson missed the birth of his daughter Elva Ruth Ferns on January 25, 1919.