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HISTORIC OLD 1932 BONUS ARMY CAMP PHOTOS WASHINGTON DC
FOUR old photographs (2.5 x 4”) with historical importance and excellent detail of the famous Bonus Army Camp. The photos are pasted on cardboard and written on the front of the cardboard is: “Bonus Camp July 1932, Washington.”
On the reverse is written: “Scenes at Anacostia Bonus Camp Washington D.C., July 1932. Left to Right:
1. “Mary Brown in front of hut.” [She stands in front of a building bearing the sigh: “BONUS INN. 369th Infantry of the NY 93rd Division. “Harlem Hellfighters” is the popular name for the 369th Infantry Regiment, formerly the 15th New York National Guard Regiment. The unit was also known as The Black Rattlers, in addition to several other nicknames. The 369th Infantry Regiment was known for being the first African-American Regiment to fight during WWI. In this photograph, a black veteran sits smoking his pipe on the porch of their building. A hand lettered sign is visible “All donations are appreciated for our tobacco fund.”]
2. “AFTER THE ROUT & FIRE BY HOOVER’S ORDER.”
3. “A Part of the Camp.”
4. “THE WHITE HOUSE.” [Visible signs read “B E F (Bonus Expeditionary Force) WHITE HOUSE, Material Donated by S. M. SEISEL CO., Pittston, PA” and more.]
“The self-named Bonus Expeditionary Force was an assemblage of some 43,000 marchers — 17,000 World War I veterans, their families, and affiliated groups, who protested in Washington, D.C., in spring and summer of 1932. Called the Bonus March by the news media, the Bonus Marchers were more popularly known as the Bonus Army. The war veterans sought immediate, cash payment of Service Certificates granted them eight years earlier via the Adjusted Service Certificate Law of 1924, but un-redeemable until 1945.
The Bonus Army was led by Walter W. Waters, a former Army sergeant, and were encouraged by retired U.S.M.C. Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler, a most popular military man of the time.
Most of the Bonus Army camped in a Hooverville on the Anacostia Flats, then a swampy, muddy area across the Anacostia River from the federal core of Washington. The camps, built from materials scavenged from a nearby rubbish dump, were tightly controlled by the veterans with streets laid out, sanitation facilities built and parades held daily. To live in the camps, veterans were required to register and prove they had been honorably discharged.
On the 28th of July 1932, Attorney General Mitchell ordered the police evacuation of the Bonus Army veterans, who resisted; the police shot at them, and killed two. When told of the killings, President Hoover ordered the U.S. Army to effect the evacuation of the Bonus Army from Washington, D.C.
Commanded by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the 12th Infantry Regiment and the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, supported with six battle tanks commanded by Maj. George S. Patton, formed in Pennsylvania Avenue while thousands of Civil Service employees left work to line the street and watch the U.S. Army attack its own veterans. The Bonus Marchers, believing the display was in their honor, cheered the troops until Maj. Patton charged the cavalry against them — to which action the Civil Service employee spectators yelled: "Shame! Shame!" against the charging cavalry.
After the cavalry charge, infantry, with fixed bayonets and adamsite gas, entered the Bonus Army camps, evicting veterans, families, and camp followers. The veterans fled across the Anacostia River, to their largest camp, which was also attacked & destroyed. As member of Gen. MacArthur's staff, Maj. Dwight D. Eisenhower had strong reservations about routing the Bonus Army.”
Price= $150.00
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