0:00:02.536,0:00:05.376 In the summer of 1932, at the height of 0:00:05.376,0:00:07.970 the Great Depression, an impoverished 0:00:07.970,0:00:10.724 army of 45,000 World War One veterans 0:00:10.724,0:00:15.755 marched on Washington, DC. 0:00:15.755,0:00:17.726 They believed that if they came to 0:00:17.726,0:00:19.678 Congress, that Congress would finally 0:00:19.678,0:00:22.871 authorize immediate payment of bonds 0:00:22.871,0:00:25.457 that they had been promised for the 0:00:25.457,0:00:27.582 losses that they suffered during World 0:00:27.582,0:00:30.919 War One. But Congress refused to pay the 0:00:30.919,0:00:33.525 bonus, and the army brutally drove the 0:00:33.525,0:00:37.386 veterans away. "It's war. 0:00:37.386,0:00:39.507 The greatest concentration of fighting 0:00:39.507,0:00:43.454 troops in Washington since 1865." This is 0:00:43.454,0:00:46.114 the saga of the Bonus Army in a March 0:00:46.114,0:00:48.231 that changed the nation. 0:00:48.962,0:00:53.749 (Singing "Remembery my forgotten man. You 0:00:53.749,0:00:58.320 put a rock right in his hand....") 0:01:07.815,0:01:10.045 Major funding for this program was 0:01:10.200,0:01:12.561 provided by the Disabled American 0:01:12.561,0:01:14.730 Veterans' National Service Foundation. 0:01:14.730,0:01:16.805 Since World War One, DAV has helped 0:01:16.805,0:01:18.621 veterans recover from the wounds and 0:01:18.621,0:01:22.302 scars of war. DAV - building better lives 0:01:22.302,0:01:24.417 for America's disabled veterans and 0:01:24.417,0:01:27.413 their families. Additional production 0:01:27.413,0:01:29.184 support provided by 0:01:29.184,0:01:31.573 Tawani Foundation - promoting the ideal of 0:01:31.573,0:01:33.782 the citizen soldier at the Pritzker 0:01:33.782,0:01:37.703 Military Library, Chicago Illinois; and by 0:01:37.703,0:01:40.724 the Humanities Council of Washington, DC. 0:01:41.610,0:01:43.949 [Music] 0:01:44.422,0:01:46.872 America was not prepared when it entered 0:01:46.872,0:01:50.359 World War One in 1917. Fighting the 0:01:50.359,0:01:52.708 Germans required young American men by 0:01:52.708,0:01:55.112 the millions, and the only way to get 0:01:55.112,0:01:58.545 them was through conscription. The 0:01:58.545,0:02:00.410 American Army, for the first time in its 0:02:00.410,0:02:02.630 history, will be composed of a majority 0:02:02.630,0:02:05.084 of conscripted troops. And when the draft 0:02:05.084,0:02:07.211 is explained to the American people, it's 0:02:07.211,0:02:10.611 called Selective Service. Some men were 0:02:10.611,0:02:13.289 selected to fight, others to work in 0:02:13.289,0:02:17.654 needed defense industries, or as farmers. 0:02:17.654,0:02:20.672 So the different conception of military 0:02:20.672,0:02:22.633 service as work, as opposed to just 0:02:22.633,0:02:25.611 simply civic duty. The first American 0:02:25.611,0:02:29.984 troops arrived in France in June of 1917. 0:02:30.836,0:02:34.309 In just 18 months, nearly 100,000 lost 0:02:34.309,0:02:38.854 their lives. 200,000 more were wounded or 0:02:38.854,0:02:45.278 gassed. Also over there were hundreds of 0:02:45.278,0:02:47.364 thousands of African-American soldiers. 0:02:49.130,0:02:52.314 Barred from combat with American units, 0:02:52.314,0:02:54.987 many fought courageously under the 0:02:54.987,0:02:57.809 French flag. For the first time, many of 0:02:57.809,0:02:59.555 these people experienced what it was 0:02:59.555,0:03:00.973 like to be treated 0:03:00.973,0:03:04.239 as fully human beings by white people. 0:03:04.859,0:03:07.125 When the armistice was signed on 0:03:07.125,0:03:10.794 November 11, 1918, most of the Americans 0:03:10.794,0:03:14.410 that had served would never be the same. 0:03:16.405,0:03:20.361 As the first waves of troops returned 0:03:20.361,0:03:22.858 from Europe, the nation turned out to 0:03:22.858,0:03:26.779 honor them with parades. The veterans 0:03:26.779,0:03:28.687 quickly realized the high price they had 0:03:28.687,0:03:32.044 paid. Let's say a guy didn't go to war - 0:03:32.044,0:03:34.872 stayed home working at an arms factory. 0:03:34.872,0:03:37.212 He would probably get maybe 10 times as 0:03:37.212,0:03:39.334 much as a soldier would. A soldier in 0:03:39.334,0:03:41.113 combat was getting about a buck, buck and 0:03:41.113,0:03:43.924 a quarter a day. Soon after the war, 0:03:43.924,0:03:45.624 veterans began to argue that soldiers 0:03:45.624,0:03:48.800 should be compensated for the wages they 0:03:48.800,0:03:51.451 lost while serving their country. They 0:03:51.451,0:03:53.334 very carefully used the terms "adjusted 0:03:53.334,0:03:56.864 compensation" to be clear that what they 0:03:56.864,0:03:59.663 are asking for is not a bonus; they are 0:03:59.663,0:04:02.228 asking for back wages that are due to 0:04:02.228,0:04:04.987 them. It was the detractors who called 0:04:04.987,0:04:06.311 it a bonus. 0:04:06.311,0:04:09.403 Finally, in 1924, Congress granted World 0:04:09.403,0:04:12.147 War One veterans adjusted universal 0:04:12.147,0:04:16.589 compensation. A law had granted them the 0:04:16.589,0:04:19.695 bones equivalent to a dollar to a dollar 0:04:19.695,0:04:21.418 and a quarter a day for every day they 0:04:21.418,0:04:23.681 served, which in many cases would be six, 0:04:23.681,0:04:26.606 eight hundred, or a thousand dollars. But 0:04:26.606,0:04:29.212 there was a catch. They don't get a nickel 0:04:29.212,0:04:32.946 of the money until 1945. Unless they die. 0:04:32.946,0:04:35.061 That's why they called it the "tombstone 0:04:35.061,0:04:38.288 bonus." In 1928, Herbert Clark Hoover, a 0:04:38.288,0:04:39.958 self-made millionaire, was elected 0:04:39.958,0:04:44.024 president. In his inaugural address, 0:04:44.024,0:04:45.976 Hoover proclaimed that the future of the 0:04:45.976,0:04:47.909 country was bright with hope. 0:04:50.512,0:04:53.309 Just seven months later, the stock market 0:04:53.309,0:04:55.965 collapsed, and the country descended into 0:04:55.965,0:04:57.316 the Great Depression. 0:04:58.132,0:05:01.860 [Music] 0:05:01.860,0:05:04.750 In America in 1932, hunger and 0:05:04.750,0:05:08.792 desperation stalked the land. 25% of 0:05:08.792,0:05:11.348 workers were unemployed, and many were 0:05:11.348,0:05:15.576 veterans. One of them was Walter W. Waters, 0:05:15.576,0:05:19.304 down on his luck in Portland, Oregon. He 0:05:19.304,0:05:21.656 had been a sergeant in the war, and 0:05:21.656,0:05:23.626 that's an indication that you were a 0:05:23.626,0:05:25.590 pretty good soldier. And there were a lot 0:05:25.590,0:05:27.614 of veterans sitting around trying to 0:05:27.614,0:05:30.592 find what to do next. Then came a ray of 0:05:30.592,0:05:31.665 hope. 0:05:32.183,0:05:34.928 A bill calling for an immediate cash 0:05:34.928,0:05:36.610 payment of the veterans' bonus was 0:05:36.610,0:05:39.948 introduced in Congress. Waters became 0:05:39.948,0:05:42.561 obsessed with it. "During this time, I was 0:05:42.561,0:05:44.268 anxiously watching reports in the 0:05:44.268,0:05:46.811 newspapers of the progress of bonus 0:05:46.811,0:05:50.013 legislation. And I noticed that the highly 0:05:50.013,0:05:52.346 organized lobbies in Washington were 0:05:52.346,0:05:56.025 producing results, regardless of the 0:05:56.025,0:05:59.731 justice or injustice of the demand." At a 0:05:59.731,0:06:01.758 meeting of jobless veterans, Waters stood 0:06:01.758,0:06:05.047 up and urged them to march on Washington. 0:06:05.817,0:06:08.091 And when that happened, it kind of 0:06:08.091,0:06:10.929 clicked for these guys. Eventually, there 0:06:10.929,0:06:12.998 were about 300 of them. And they go down 0:06:12.998,0:06:16.433 to the railroad yard to hop freight, and 0:06:16.433,0:06:19.698 they go all the way across the country to 0:06:19.698,0:06:22.284 Washington. (Song "Once I built a 0:06:22.284,0:06:28.358 railroad...) They called themselves the 0:06:28.358,0:06:32.634 Bonus Expeditionary Force, or BEF - a 0:06:32.634,0:06:35.850 play on the American Expeditionary Force, 0:06:35.850,0:06:38.091 the collective name for the troops sent 0:06:38.091,0:06:42.338 to France. But soon they were simply 0:06:42.338,0:06:46.032 known as the Bonus Army. They carried 0:06:46.032,0:06:48.866 knapsacks or duffle bags or bed rolls 0:06:48.866,0:06:52.839 with tin cups dangling. They had $30 among 0:06:52.839,0:06:57.484 them. Meanwhile, word of the BEF was 0:06:57.484,0:07:01.062 spreading. Even as Waters and his men 0:07:01.062,0:07:03.863 were heading towards the Capitol, 25 vets 0:07:03.863,0:07:05.739 from Tennessee were circling the White 0:07:05.739,0:07:08.243 House in a truck bearing the sign, "We 0:07:08.243,0:07:12.322 want our bonus." And they start from 0:07:12.322,0:07:14.630 everywhere. They start from Los Angeles, 0:07:14.630,0:07:16.921 they start from Las Vegas, they start 0:07:16.921,0:07:19.380 from Mississippi and Texas. They come from 0:07:19.380,0:07:23.003 everywhere. Antonio Oliver, a veteran 0:07:23.003,0:07:26.502 gassed in the Argonne forest in France, 0:07:26.502,0:07:29.200 drove from Pennsylvania with his twin sons, 0:07:29.200,0:07:32.502 Nick and Joe. "My dad got word to march on 0:07:32.502,0:07:35.418 Washington and thumped a tub for the 0:07:35.418,0:07:38.002 bonus that they promised the veterans in 0:07:38.002,0:07:41.528 1924. I think it was approaching dawn 0:07:41.528,0:07:44.340 when he got there, and my father woke us 0:07:44.340,0:07:48.115 up and says, 'There's the Capitol building.' 0:07:48.115,0:07:52.994 I never forgot that." While streams of bonus 0:07:52.994,0:07:56.183 marchers headed for the Capitol, Pelham 0:07:56.183,0:07:59.633 Glassford, the new DC police chief, 0:07:59.633,0:08:02.162 prepared for their invasion. "I had been 0:08:02.162,0:08:04.485 aware from the first that the BEF was 0:08:04.485,0:08:08.011 symbolic of the vast army of unemployed. 0:08:08.011,0:08:10.512 Anything unfortunate that happened might 0:08:10.512,0:08:12.872 easily precipitate widespread social 0:08:12.872,0:08:14.428 disorder." 0:08:15.430,0:08:18.764 Kellen Glassford was a decorated 0:08:18.764,0:08:20.844 brigadier general during World War One 0:08:20.844,0:08:24.301 who commanded the loyalty of his men in 0:08:24.301,0:08:28.120 a very personal way. Glassford was really 0:08:28.120,0:08:30.747 pleased in many ways that the veterans 0:08:30.747,0:08:33.934 were coming to Washington. But he knew 0:08:33.934,0:08:35.824 that the politicians were not 0:08:35.824,0:08:38.896 sympathetic. Officials were also 0:08:38.896,0:08:40.710 concerned that a large number of African- 0:08:40.710,0:08:43.315 American veterans were mixed in with the 0:08:43.315,0:08:46.850 marchers. And the irony is that, going 0:08:46.850,0:08:49.070 back to the Great War, the African- 0:08:49.070,0:08:51.746 American troops were segregated from the 0:08:51.746,0:08:55.040 white troops. Also preparing for the 0:08:55.040,0:08:57.862 Bonus Army was a prominent World War One 0:08:57.862,0:09:02.003 veteran: General Douglas A. MacArthur. The 0:09:02.003,0:09:04.994 United States Army, through its Military 0:09:04.994,0:09:08.758 Intelligence Division, remained greatly 0:09:08.758,0:09:10.776 concerned about the possibility of 0:09:10.776,0:09:12.102 revolution. 0:09:13.438,0:09:18.341 The Army developed a plan to defend the 0:09:18.341,0:09:20.598 United States Capitol in the case of 0:09:20.598,0:09:23.940 civil insurrection, and they were talking 0:09:23.940,0:09:31.311 about using tanks, machine guns, gas. By 0:09:31.311,0:09:33.986 the time the Bonus Marchers arrived in 0:09:33.986,0:09:38.195 Washington, the Army was more than ready 0:09:38.195,0:09:44.694 to deal with them. At the end of May, 1932, 0:09:44.694,0:09:47.618 nearly 10,000 Bonus Marchers occupied 0:09:47.618,0:09:50.353 the nation's capital, and tens of 0:09:50.353,0:09:53.573 thousands more were on their way. Police 0:09:53.573,0:09:56.172 chief Glassford realized he was on his 0:09:56.172,0:09:59.805 own. "They followed their leaders in the 0:09:59.805,0:10:01.985 childlike faith that their government 0:10:01.985,0:10:03.671 would help them, just as they had 0:10:03.671,0:10:06.492 responded during the war. Hence, I felt 0:10:06.492,0:10:08.527 these veterans could not be treated like 0:10:08.527,0:10:14.669 bums." On June 4, 0:10:14.669,0:10:17.538 thousands of Washingtonians lined the 0:10:17.538,0:10:19.891 streets to see what the Washington Post 0:10:19.891,0:10:22.347 called the "strangest military parade the 0:10:22.347,0:10:26.277 Capitol had ever witnessed." The BEF was 0:10:26.277,0:10:30.034 marching in full force. Within days, 0:10:30.034,0:10:32.461 Walter Waters had a full-fledged 0:10:32.461,0:10:34.846 lobbying operation underway. "The 0:10:34.846,0:10:36.849 veterans, frankly, made a nuisance of 0:10:36.849,0:10:39.571 themselves. (A) couple of veterans were 0:10:39.571,0:10:41.747 always sitting in each representative's 0:10:41.747,0:10:44.603 waiting rooms. The representatives were 0:10:44.603,0:10:48.264 solicited outside the building as well." 0:10:48.264,0:10:51.981 The strategy quickly paid off. After just 0:10:51.981,0:10:54.494 two weeks, the House of Representatives 0:10:54.494,0:10:58.070 passed the bonus bill. The BEF had won a 0:10:58.070,0:11:01.230 battle, but a greater one awaited them in 0:11:01.230,0:11:05.049 the Senate. 0:11:06.354,0:11:08.633 In a remote neighborhood of Washington 0:11:08.633,0:11:11.615 known as Anacostia, an enormous tent and 0:11:11.615,0:11:15.477 shack city rose from the mudflats. 0:11:15.477,0:11:18.368 Here, the threadbare heroes of World War 0:11:18.368,0:11:22.101 One formed their last great encampment. 0:11:22.863,0:11:26.104 "We just drove in, and we were ankle deep 0:11:26.104,0:11:29.408 in mud. I never saw so much mud in my 0:11:29.408,0:11:32.807 life." American flags could be seen flying 0:11:32.807,0:11:37.249 from every possible vantage point. A city 0:11:37.249,0:11:39.369 was laid out in Anacostia. The streets 0:11:39.369,0:11:42.138 were named by states. There was a library 0:11:42.138,0:11:44.545 in the center of it run by the Salvation 0:11:44.545,0:11:47.442 Army. There was music day and night. There 0:11:47.442,0:11:49.594 was gospel music, and there was blues 0:11:49.594,0:11:51.495 music, and there was country music and 0:11:51.495,0:11:56.910 popular music. There were people who 0:11:56.910,0:11:59.805 built beautiful little replicas of 0:11:59.805,0:12:02.645 suburban homes. There were guys who were 0:12:02.645,0:12:05.623 buried alive for money. "I will remember 0:12:05.623,0:12:09.256 the veteran laying in a casket, saying, 0:12:09.256,0:12:11.443 'Hey, they treat us like we were dead 0:12:11.443,0:12:14.800 people.'" A popular form of entertainment 0:12:14.800,0:12:18.699 in the camp was boxing. "I was the best boxer." 0:12:18.699,0:12:22.521 (other) "I was." "We'd box and pass a hat. 0:12:22.521,0:12:24.489 My dad would get a little irate if we 0:12:24.489,0:12:27.499 didn't really punch each other out. Then he'd 0:12:27.499,0:12:29.953 throw up both of our arms. It was always 0:12:29.953,0:12:32.865 draw, always a draw, always a draw." 0:12:32.865,0:12:35.231 People across the country sympathized 0:12:35.231,0:12:37.390 with the Bonus Marchers' plight, but to 0:12:37.390,0:12:39.496 official Washington, they were just a 0:12:39.496,0:12:41.616 sign of trouble on the horizon. 0:12:44.232,0:12:47.078 One of the stories that went largely 0:12:47.078,0:12:49.136 unreported was that the color line 0:12:49.136,0:12:50.658 seemed to have vanished in the Bonus 0:12:50.658,0:12:54.512 Army camps. Visitors were astonished to 0:12:54.512,0:12:57.521 see black veterans and white veterans 0:12:57.521,0:13:01.485 sharing billets, chores, and rations. The 0:13:01.485,0:13:04.497 military experience has the potential 0:13:04.497,0:13:07.117 for transcending things like race. And 0:13:07.117,0:13:11.192 for black veterans to be in company with 0:13:11.192,0:13:14.817 white veterans was a revolutionary thing. 0:13:16.549,0:13:19.270 Roy Wilkins, an enterprising young 0:13:19.270,0:13:21.625 reporter working for the NAACP, 0:13:21.625,0:13:25.137 decided to visit and see for himself. "At 0:13:25.137,0:13:27.722 Anacostia, there was no residential 0:13:27.722,0:13:30.079 segregation. Recruits of any color were 0:13:30.079,0:13:32.523 made welcome." "It was a big event in 0:13:32.523,0:13:37.188 the part of the city that I lived in. They 0:13:37.188,0:13:39.976 had groups of whites and Negroes that 0:13:39.976,0:13:43.388 formed a unit because they were from the 0:13:43.388,0:13:47.177 same state. That was not so usual for the 0:13:47.177,0:13:50.248 city of Washington." And there were lots 0:13:50.248,0:13:52.123 of people, especially people in the 0:13:52.123,0:13:54.221 military, who saw this is a very, very 0:13:54.221,0:13:57.235 dangerous thing. "And right there with the 0:13:57.235,0:14:00.481 tragedy of it all, men can live, eat, play, 0:14:00.481,0:14:03.922 and work together, be they black or white. 0:14:03.922,0:14:06.856 Just as the BEF demonstrated." 0:14:09.369,0:14:11.419 On June 17, 0:14:11.419,0:14:14.374 1932, thousands of bonus marchers 0:14:14.374,0:14:16.548 assembled on Capitol Hill to maintain a 0:14:16.548,0:14:19.268 vigil on the Senate, scheduled to vote on 0:14:19.268,0:14:22.552 the bonus bill passed by the house. The 0:14:22.552,0:14:25.118 shouts and songs of the veterans, "The 0:14:25.118,0:14:27.373 Yanks are starving! The Yanks are 0:14:27.373,0:14:30.241 starving!" could be heard in the Senate 0:14:30.241,0:14:34.103 Chamber as the heated debate went on. 0:14:34.103,0:14:36.946 Late in the day, Waters delivered the 0:14:36.946,0:14:40.108 result to his troops. The Senate 0:14:40.108,0:14:43.178 overwhelmingly defeated the bonus bill, 0:14:43.178,0:14:45.598 and the men were extraordinarily 0:14:45.598,0:14:50.287 disappointed. But fortunately, a newspaper 0:14:50.287,0:14:52.710 reporter suggested to Waters that he 0:14:52.710,0:14:56.809 ought to order the men to sing "America." 0:14:56.809,0:15:00.551 And they did. They all sang "America," and 0:15:00.551,0:15:03.829 they dispersed peacefully. But Waters 0:15:03.829,0:15:06.262 urged the marchers to remain in 0:15:06.262,0:15:09.873 Washington. "I am not advising anybody to 0:15:09.873,0:15:11.800 go home. 0:15:11.800,0:15:14.553 We intend to maintain our army in 0:15:14.553,0:15:18.376 Washington regardless of who goes home." 0:15:18.376,0:15:20.398 President Hoover and other people kept 0:15:20.398,0:15:22.723 saying, "Why can't we drive them home?" 0:15:22.723,0:15:25.428 A lot of these people didn't have a home. 0:15:25.428,0:15:28.145 It was pretty clear to everybody that they 0:15:28.145,0:15:30.869 could not remain. But no one knew how to 0:15:30.869,0:15:32.724 get rid of them, and no one wanted 0:15:32.724,0:15:35.714 violence. On July 16, the last day 0:15:35.714,0:15:37.774 Congress was in session, 0:15:37.774,0:15:41.103 Washington was on edge. Thousands of 0:15:41.103,0:15:45.256 angry veterans surrounded the Capitol. 0:15:45.256,0:15:47.449 Near midnight, the 72nd Congress 0:15:47.449,0:15:49.570 adjourned. 0:15:49.570,0:15:52.059 Congressmen left through back doors and 0:15:52.059,0:15:54.141 underground tunnels to avoid 0:15:54.141,0:15:57.073 confrontations. The situation had come to 0:15:57.073,0:16:00.430 a head. The president ordered the 0:16:00.430,0:16:02.949 evacuation of the veterans from downtown 0:16:02.949,0:16:09.324 Washington. By police count, there were 0:16:09.324,0:16:12.712 still 11,698 marchers and their 0:16:12.712,0:16:15.683 families in Washington. Midway between 0:16:15.683,0:16:18.130 the White House and the Capitol stood a 0:16:18.130,0:16:20.377 row of half demolished buildings where 0:16:20.377,0:16:23.075 hundreds of marchers were living. On the 0:16:23.075,0:16:25.936 morning of July 28, the wheels were in 0:16:25.936,0:16:28.297 motion to evict them. 0:16:28.297,0:16:32.462 Waters urged his men to cooperate. Then 0:16:32.462,0:16:34.512 someone began to throw bricks at the 0:16:34.512,0:16:37.076 police. Glassford and several police 0:16:37.076,0:16:39.643 officers run to the area. Two cops 0:16:39.643,0:16:44.626 are are grabbed. One cop pulls out a gun, 0:16:44.626,0:16:49.046 and he fires. Another cop turns, and he 0:16:49.046,0:16:53.565 fires a shot. One veteran was dead, and 0:16:53.565,0:16:56.765 another lay dying. 0:16:56.765,0:16:59.373 Now there's been bloodshed, and now you 0:16:59.373,0:17:02.643 bring in the troops. When MacArthur moved 0:17:02.643,0:17:06.054 his troops to the affected area, he knew 0:17:06.054,0:17:09.074 exactly what he was going to do. And he 0:17:09.074,0:17:11.865 adorned himself in his dress uniform, 0:17:11.865,0:17:14.576 along with his major aide, Dwight D. 0:17:14.576,0:17:18.632 Eisenhower. The force stepped off at 4:30 0:17:18.632,0:17:20.505 p.m. 0:17:20.505,0:17:23.009 More than 200 cavalry men spread out 0:17:23.009,0:17:25.234 across Constitution and Pennsylvania 0:17:25.234,0:17:27.522 Avenues. 0:17:27.522,0:17:30.963 Behind them came 400 infantrymen, 0:17:30.963,0:17:32.954 followed up by tanks and armored 0:17:32.954,0:17:35.906 vehicles. "I was about seven years old 0:17:35.906,0:17:37.796 at the time, 0:17:37.796,0:17:40.023 and the troops were out in Pennsylvania 0:17:40.023,0:17:43.892 Avenue. I was scared. And my dad kept 0:17:43.892,0:17:45.529 saying, "Nothing's going to happen." 0:17:45.529,0:17:49.268 The cavalrymen, one of whom is Major 0:17:49.268,0:17:51.831 Patton, have got their sabers out. 0:17:51.831,0:17:54.586 The soldiers don gas masks, and without 0:17:54.586,0:17:57.681 warning, began hurling gas grenades at 0:17:57.681,0:18:01.167 the veterans. The troops advanced, some 0:18:01.167,0:18:04.813 jabbing with bayonets. "Tear gas was 0:18:04.813,0:18:07.549 just burning my face. I was trailing 0:18:07.549,0:18:09.555 behind my dad, and he kept hollering, 0:18:09.555,0:18:12.427 'Come on, boy! Come on boy!'" 0:18:12.427,0:18:15.519 Marchers were choking from the gas, just 0:18:15.519,0:18:17.694 like the battlefields in France. "And so 0:18:17.694,0:18:19.763 they're being forced out of their shacks 0:18:19.763,0:18:22.606 by smoke bombs and tear gas hurled by 0:18:22.606,0:18:25.329 the troops who have been called out by 0:18:25.329,0:18:27.246 the President of the United States." 0:18:27.246,0:18:30.757 Chief Glassford stood by helplessly. 0:18:30.757,0:18:32.859 "The veterans did not believe the 0:18:32.859,0:18:34.753 country for which they had fought 0:18:34.753,0:18:36.671 would ignore the plight into which 0:18:36.671,0:18:38.459 the depression had placed them. Many 0:18:38.459,0:18:40.831 did not believe that United States troops 0:18:40.831,0:18:44.007 would take the field against them." By early 0:18:44.007,0:18:46.432 evening, most of the marchers had been 0:18:46.432,0:18:49.030 driven across a drawbridge that led to 0:18:49.030,0:18:52.995 their main camp. The President does not want 0:18:52.995,0:18:56.530 MacArthur to cross the bridge, and 0:18:56.530,0:19:00.327 MacArthur disregards the order. Eisenhower 0:19:00.327,0:19:02.954 later says that he saw this happen. 0:19:02.954,0:19:05.078 MacArthur says, "I cannot bother with 0:19:05.078,0:19:08.077 pieces of paper during a military operation." 0:19:08.077,0:19:11.717 And so he crosses the bridge. All through the 0:19:11.717,0:19:14.489 camp were scenes of panic. 0:19:14.489,0:19:16.067 "My dad says, 'Let's get the hell out of 0:19:16.067,0:19:19.509 here. The soldiers are gonna kill us.'" 0:19:19.509,0:19:22.159 Then troops began to set fire to their 0:19:22.159,0:19:24.610 wooden shacks. 0:19:24.610,0:19:27.395 One reporter wrote, "The blaze was so big, 0:19:27.395,0:19:31.329 it lit the whole sky - a nightmare come to 0:19:31.329,0:19:35.235 life." The President looked out a window 0:19:35.235,0:19:36.630 of the White House in the direction of 0:19:36.630,0:19:41.011 the fire, then retired for the night. 0:19:41.011,0:19:43.952 "And the roaring flames sound the death 0:19:43.952,0:19:46.921 knell to the fantastic Bonus Army, that 0:19:46.921,0:19:50.833 ends so disastrously in the shadow of the 0:19:50.833,0:19:55.799 Capitol of the United States of America." 0:19:58.758,0:20:02.107 The morning after the Bonus Route, public 0:20:02.107,0:20:04.130 sentiment took a dramatic turn against 0:20:04.130,0:20:07.875 Herbert Hoover. He argued that this was a 0:20:07.875,0:20:10.667 communist revolution, and there wasn't 0:20:10.667,0:20:14.300 one bit of evidence to prove it. 0:20:14.300,0:20:17.180 If the expulsion needed a human face, it 0:20:17.180,0:20:20.147 came in the person of Joe Angelo, whose 0:20:20.147,0:20:23.529 story was published across the nation. 0:20:23.529,0:20:25.261 Joe Angelo gets the Distinguished 0:20:25.261,0:20:27.281 Service Cross for saving Patton's life 0:20:27.281,0:20:29.697 on the battlefield. The next morning, 0:20:29.697,0:20:32.955 Angelo comes to the burned-out field to 0:20:32.955,0:20:35.953 see Patton. Patton says, "Take this man 0:20:35.953,0:20:39.878 away. I don't want to see this man." 0:20:40.617,0:20:41.859 [Music] 0:20:41.859,0:20:44.159 Walter waters quickly faded into 0:20:44.159,0:20:47.019 obscurity. "The BEF was broken up. The men 0:20:47.019,0:20:48.927 returned to some city or other, there to 0:20:48.927,0:20:51.817 roam the streets hopelessly, seeking work 0:20:51.817,0:20:54.436 or to shuffle in breadlines. 0:20:54.436,0:20:57.696 There they remain, crying examples not of 0:20:57.696,0:20:59.171 the need for the bonus, but of the need 0:20:59.171,0:21:03.137 for a new American system." So just a few 0:21:03.137,0:21:06.566 months after the Bonus Marchers are 0:21:06.566,0:21:09.187 driven out of Washington, you have a song 0:21:09.187,0:21:12.082 which is called "Brother Can You Spare a 0:21:12.082,0:21:15.251 Dime." This song was directly inspired by 0:21:15.251,0:21:19.532 the bonus marchers. (song: They used to 0:21:19.532,0:21:22.925 tell me I was building a dream with peace 0:21:22.925,0:21:27.811 and glory ahead. Why should I be standing 0:21:27.811,0:21:35.193 in line...") And it just captured the 0:21:35.193,0:21:38.110 desperation that was the story of the 0:21:38.110,0:21:40.949 Bonus March. (song: Say, buddy, can you 0:21:40.949,0:21:45.957 spare a dime?) On November 8, 1932, 0:21:45.957,0:21:50.135 Americans, desperate for change, elected 0:21:50.135,0:21:54.023 Franklin Delano Roosevelt president. 0:21:54.023,0:21:56.675 The first thing that Roosevelt does, he 0:21:56.675,0:21:58.867 produces something called the Economy 0:21:58.867,0:22:01.759 Act. The big victims are veterans. 0:22:01.759,0:22:05.102 Disabled veterans. Still, the veterans 0:22:05.102,0:22:08.592 kept returning to Washington each year. 0:22:08.592,0:22:11.560 FDR knows that he cannot use force 0:22:11.560,0:22:13.863 against the veterans. He also knows he 0:22:13.863,0:22:16.312 doesn't want them in Washington, DC. Many 0:22:16.312,0:22:18.424 of the men were sent to work in 0:22:18.424,0:22:20.017 rehabilitation camps in the Florida Keys. 0:22:20.017,0:22:24.337 On September 2, 1935, the most powerful 0:22:24.337,0:22:26.589 hurricane ever to hit the Western 0:22:26.589,0:22:29.598 Hemisphere hits in the Upper Keys where 0:22:29.598,0:22:33.172 these guys are located. Several hundred 0:22:33.172,0:22:36.049 of them are killed. The government 0:22:36.049,0:22:39.453 attempted to suppress the news. But one 0:22:39.453,0:22:42.175 of the first rescue boats to get in carried 0:22:42.175,0:22:44.921 the renowned writer Ernest Hemingway. 0:22:44.921,0:22:48.554 In an angry piece, he wrote, "The veterans 0:22:48.554,0:22:52.385 in those camps were practically murdered." 0:22:52.385,0:22:54.810 When the public finally learned the 0:22:54.810,0:22:57.180 truth, opposition to paying the bonus 0:22:57.180,0:22:59.337 began to vanish. 0:23:01.629,0:23:05.694 In 1936, war clouds were gathering again 0:23:05.694,0:23:08.574 in Europe. Once again, the bonus bill is 0:23:08.574,0:23:10.832 brought up. It is vetoed again by 0:23:10.832,0:23:12.880 President Roosevelt, but this time 0:23:12.880,0:23:14.460 there's enough power in the House and 0:23:14.460,0:23:17.293 Senate to override the veto. "The bonus 0:23:17.293,0:23:19.792 bill becomes law, and veterans' tab on 0:23:19.792,0:23:25.514 World War One is paid in full." Some four 0:23:25.514,0:23:30.523 million veterans were overjoyed. So the 0:23:30.523,0:23:32.934 story comes to an end. These guys get 0:23:32.934,0:23:37.179 their money. Their lives change. "My dad 0:23:37.179,0:23:40.901 came in the house with seven $100 bills, 0:23:40.901,0:23:43.480 and I thought, 'Oh, is that what the 0:23:43.480,0:23:46.761 bonus is?' you know. We didn't know what a 0:23:46.761,0:23:50.276 bonus was. You know it's money. After all 0:23:50.276,0:23:54.385 that time." On December 7, 1941, Pearl 0:23:54.385,0:23:57.429 Harbor was attacked, and a new generation 0:23:57.429,0:23:59.796 was called to serve. During the Second 0:23:59.796,0:24:01.130 World War, 0:24:01.130,0:24:04.285 Roosevelt admits World War one veterans' 0:24:04.285,0:24:07.188 arguments. He will say that soldiers now 0:24:07.188,0:24:09.188 serving in our army will have to be 0:24:09.188,0:24:11.259 compensated for the opportunities 0:24:11.259,0:24:14.452 they've missed. What emerged was the 0:24:14.452,0:24:16.784 landmark piece of legislation known as 0:24:16.784,0:24:19.755 the GI Bill of Rights, signed into law in 0:24:19.755,0:24:22.837 June of 1944. It put millions of people 0:24:22.837,0:24:25.498 into housing, put millions of people in 0:24:25.498,0:24:27.701 college, put millions of people into 0:24:27.701,0:24:33.248 small businesses, and it changed America. 0:24:33.248,0:24:36.988 The legacy of the Bonus Army can be seen 0:24:36.988,0:24:39.111 in all the marches on Washington that 0:24:39.111,0:24:42.367 have followed. And American soldiers 0:24:42.367,0:24:45.091 returning from war today expect the 0:24:45.091,0:24:48.390 government to keep its promises. The 0:24:48.390,0:24:51.015 Bonus March was a very visible lesson to 0:24:51.015,0:24:54.178 political leaders that they did need to 0:24:54.178,0:24:56.753 do something to respond to the 0:24:56.753,0:25:00.531 individual needs of Americans. 0:25:00.531,0:25:02.762 It tells us about the determination of 0:25:02.762,0:25:06.652 people, to make sure that veterans are 0:25:06.652,0:25:09.215 recognized for the service that they 0:25:09.215,0:25:12.306 render to the nation. "In my later years, 0:25:12.306,0:25:15.684 I understood what it meant. It meant 0:25:15.684,0:25:19.838 freedom to demonstrate, and it showed 0:25:19.838,0:25:23.696 America was a free, working democracy." 0:25:23.696,0:25:27.742 [Music] 0:25:27.742,0:25:29.641 The March of the Bonus Army is available 0:25:29.641,0:25:32.337 on video cassette or DVD. The companion 0:25:32.337,0:25:35.336 book to the program is also available. To 0:25:35.336,0:25:39.072 order, call PBS Home Video at 1-800 play 0:25:39.072,0:25:49.278 PBS. (song: Once I built a railroad, made 0:25:49.278,0:25:57.811 it run. I made it race against time. Once I built 0:25:57.811,0:26:04.564 a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you 0:26:04.564,0:26:11.343 spare a dime?) Major funding for this 0:26:11.343,0:26:15.443 program was provided by the Disabled 0:26:15.443,0:26:18.280 American Veterans National Service 0:26:18.280,0:26:20.514 Foundation. Since World War One, DAV 0:26:20.514,0:26:22.774 has helped veterans recover from the 0:26:22.774,0:26:24.945 wounds and scars of war. DAV - building 0:26:24.945,0:26:26.586 better lives for America's disabled 0:26:26.586,0:26:28.724 veterans and their families. Additional 0:26:28.724,0:26:30.644 production support provided by Tawani 0:26:30.644,0:26:33.001 Foundation - promoting the ideal of the 0:26:33.001,0:26:35.285 citizen soldier at the Pritzker Military 0:26:35.285,0:26:38.816 Library, Chicago, Illinois, and by the 0:26:38.816,0:26:44.759 Humanities Council of Washington, DC. 0:26:44.759,0:26:53.120 We are PBS.