Burned in Memory
When the United States Turned Against Its Own Veterans
Photos that changed the world.
The photo has horizontal tension — the civilians on the left struggling against the police on the right. An American flag, used as a spear, cuts through the center of the photo as a Washington, D.C., cop tackles the man thrusting it. The flag immediately indicates the horrible gravity of the situation.
In 1932, World War I veterans who had been promised a bonus for serving in the Great War petitioned Congress to pay those bonuses early. The payouts were not scheduled until 1945, but in the worst of the Depression the men could certainly use the money now. Bonuses for overseas duty would be as much as $625 (about $11,000 today.)
Veterans got nowhere with traditional petitions to the government. With little to lose, they began an epic march to Washington.
They called themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force, or BEF. That was a play on the name American Expeditionary Force, AEF, which they had fought under in France. The public and press mostly called them the Bonus Marchers.
Some came from the Pacific Northwest, others from the Midwest. They walked, hitched rides, hopped on trains. Many of their families went along. Ultimately, anywhere from 20,000…
