Active military duty is one thing...being a vet with an honorable discharge is a tank of a different color. The main difference is that active duty personnel are asked to perform the patriotic limbo by bending over backwards for their country in the raging battle for another countries oil reserve or to stop a contrary political dogma in it's tracks. On the other side of patriotisms double edged sword, the vet is asked to bend over forwards and take it in the ass. So, that's what Fuck the Army means no matter what John Wayne says, who by the way never served a day in the military for some minor physical deferrement. The Duke was a lip synch patriot who in reality on the silver screen proved that Rooster Cogburn was not to a rooster at all ..but mere chicken shit. Why did the duke cross the road? To avoid military service....at all costs.
Veterans today are faced with numerous bricks in the wall from a comfortably numb government who would rather hide the issues on the darkside of the moon. (I had to do it for all you Floyd Fans!) When it comes to vets benefits in the past, the government took a real duck and cover their ass attitude while professing to promote patriotism in the ranks. It was the same old tired speeches, like the aging high school football coach who after each game, win or loose using cliche terminology such as "It's a good ball team, and we have to focus on one game at a time....it doesn't matter if we go to the state finals...the kids gave it all they have..." Yadda, Yadda, Yadda....well..in real time real war..it does matter if you win or loose...but what happens when the smoke of battle clears...the troops ETS and look for those bennies they were promised in exchange for putting their red, white and blue ass on the line and in the line of fire?
Waht about the sacrifice made...you know, little things like loosing a leg, arm or eye in battle or suffering from a severe mental condition brought on by the horrors of war. During the Vietnam era, exposure to agent orange caused a fall-out and backlash of outrage from our country's vets, families, organizations and the public at large. It was bad enough watching plane loads of body bags arrive from Vietnam on nightly television newscasts...but the suffering of vets who survived alive soon became apparent while it took years for the government to fess up to agent orange. Today, the VA hospitals are falling apart, mental health programs for vets are being cut, and you will find it hard to walk down any street in any major city of America without out seeing homeless vets in wheelchairs sparechanging their lives away. Ah, but it's business as usual, the status quo is quoted, and the machine drones on while the drones fill the skies making Orwells news-speak a reality of perception created by the Brothers Big.
I would not in a New York minute buy a used car or campaign promise from any member of congress or any president that includes the entire lineage from George Washington to Barrack Obama. The US Government has a history of making promises and then breaking them, or changing the rules later on issues from veterans affairs to treaties entered into in good faith with America's Native American Tribes. Although this practice of fucking the vet over is near criminal, it is nothing new, nor illegal...remember who writes and makes the laws! In 1932, vets who were promised bonuses for their services overseas in the war to end all wars that lasted from 1914-1918 but never received them, marched on the Capital as a collective group called the "Bonus Marchers" In fact, there were a total of 43,000 persons including 17,000 veterans who saw battle). along with their families and veterans groups who made up the additional 26,000 angry citizens who rallied and stormed the Bastille, or in this case the White House in 1932. They literally occupied Washington, DC and during the confrontations, the President of the United States sent Gen. Douglas MacArthur with troops and tanks in to clear the occupation camps. Tanks rolled over the tents and destroyed their belongings, shots were fired into the marchers and many were injured, including women and children, along with two decorated WWI vets who were killed in the charge. Along with Doug MacArthur who would run from the Japanese during WWII and get fired in Korea by his one time aide Dwight Eisenhower who was then president during the "police action, Gen. George S. Patton was not a fan of the bonus marchers either. The Great Generals who threw troops into the jaws of the "enemy" were the vets worst enemies during times of peace. Patton got his in occupied Europe in an overturned jeep and MacArthur thankfully "faded away"
Doing some historical recon, the records show that an attempt to pay the bonus for the vets was attempted in 1924 and passed by Congress. Then president "Silent" Calvin Coolidge however vetoed it, saying they didn't deserve it as military service was patriotism and was not to be paid for. Too bad he didn't live up to his nickname and keep his damn mouth shut and let the bill pass. Congress then in a counter move, overrode the veto! Victory at last you say? Wrong. They merely snuck into Coolidges back door of conspiracy and passed the World War Adjusted Compensation Act, the operative lingo being "adjusted" which is typical Congressional foreplay with re-wording laws. Instead of the regular bonus promised when they went into active duty, it now awarded them bonuses as certificates they could redeem....in 1945! The Bonus Army as the vets were now called demanded immediate cash payment...it was not about to happen. They would have to wait for the conclusion of yet another war to end all wars...meanwhile things were getting worse now for the veterans as jobs were scarce for returning WWI vets in 1918 and weren't getting any better. They and their families were literally starving to death. One vet, a former sergeant named Walter W. Waters had enough and worked tirelessly for the next couple of years to organize the Bonus March to get what was rightfully theirs...even if it meant camping out in the capital and in 1932...Washington was under siege by it's own vets as the occupation took place...soon the US Army would attack...the vets of the US Army in an incident that shocked the world, not to mention veterans groups world wide.
Part Two - The Bonus Marchers & The Government Attack by Mike Marino
As summer approached in June of 1932 the U.S. House of Representatives did pass a bill which in effect would have allowed for distribution of the vets bonus. The Depression was in full swing and vets were starving and living without a net, but anticipating the worst, and the worst did happen, as the Senate, in it's infinite wisdom defeated the bill with a very un-American vote of 62-18. The Bonus Marchers had anticipated this defeat and on the very day it went down in flames on June 17, the marchers already in place in the city, surrounded the the capital building. As Thomas Jefferson once said, "The people should not be afraid of their government...the government should be afraid of it's people!" This should hold true today as well.
In honor, or rather dishonor of President Herbert Hoover, the Bonus Army named their ramshackle encampment, Hoovervilles. This was the same name the Okies who were escaping the Dust Bowl on their mass migration to the golden state of California once they were kicked off their farms had named their camps along the roadside on Route 66. They had been uprooted and now had to trek westward to pursue the elusive American Dream, which had transformed itself into the American Nightmare on Elm Street.
The Bonus Marchers chose a plot of land to set up camp in Washington in an area known as the Anacostia Flats which was nothing more than a swampy area of mud and dirt on the the Anacostia River near the 11th Street Bridge. (I went to the site on my recent trip to D.C. after my visit to the Vietnam Memorial) The ramshackle camp structures were constructed from the trash they had taken from nearby landfills, and Hooverville became a small peoples state within the government state as the vets had now taken control of the area, established santitation facilities, constructed mud streets and of course, held parades and protested daily with marches in the capital while they became more and more vocal as the government turned a deaf ear to their plight. Congress and the president meanwhile do what they generally do best...they did nothing thinking it would all blow over like a bad dream. That was not about to happen. Something did happen however, and the full weight of the U.S. government hit the fan!
On July 28, U.S. Attorney General, William Mitchell issued a directive to have the vets and their families forcibly removed from Hooverville, using any means at their disposal. No this was not Area 51, but extreme force and measures were put in place. The first deadly volley came from the D.C. police who descended on the camp and faced angry men and their families. These angry young men were not intimidated These men had faced battle on the European fields against other armed forces in the first mechanized war in history. The marchers refused to budge, the police opened fire, two vets were shot and died. Other locations of the Bonus Army were also attacked throughout the city and more vets were shot dead by police.
The heavy handed Hoover flexing his presidential muscle now ordered the U.S. Army into action to clear the vets out of the camps. The attack was planned and led by none other than the glory hound, General Douglas MacArthur, who at the time was the Army Chief of Staff. He attacked full force with infantry, cavalry and tanks. The marchers were uner assault, ousted and all their belongings were burned and destroyed. Once the attack subsided, the Marchers moved back in to the camps. The police attacked again and two more vets were shot dead. William Huska was one, who is now buried in Arlington National Cemetary. He may have been driven out of his Hooverville, but today is a permanent resident of the capital where he protested for his rights and was killed for his trouble...a constant reminder of a government gone mad.
Hoover now needed a course in anger management ordered the army to clear the entire city of the marchers. MacArthur, happy as a hooker in on getting paid to get laid, once again led the attack. This time General George Patton lead the tank assault. Civilian government employees lined the streets and started yelling at the attackers and in defense of the marchers! The army now attacked not only with tanks but the infantry fixed bayonets and lobbed teargas into the camps. The camps cleared quickly as the vets and their families fled across the river.
Hoover issued the command to stop the attack as it was getting way out of hand, even by his standards, but MacArthur, ever the deluded god in uniform ignored the order thinking this "revolution" would overthrow the government attacked again, more viciously this time. A woman was attacked by troops, beaten and miscarried, and a 12 year old boy died from the teargas attack. Dwight Eisenhower who was MacArthurs top aide felt the attack was all wrong and later when president he said, quote, "I told that dumb son-of-a-bitch not to go!" One vet who had won accomodation after accomodation in battle and had saved Pattons life during a battle tried to talk to him and have him call off the attack. Patton refused and and ordered the MP's to remove him and make sure he didn't show up again or would be arrested!
Needless to say, the attacks destroyed Hoovers chances for re-election and opened the door to the White House for FDR. They organized another march in 1933 and this time FDR provided them with a campsite and three meals a day on land in Virginia near the capital. Negotiations opened up once again, and this time FDR sent his wife, Eleanor into the camps to talk with the protesters. She ate with them and talked with them and even joined them in a few choruses of protest songs. One vet said in an interview, "Hoover sent in the army, FDR sent his wife!" The results of all the bloodshed finally ended in 1936 when the both houses passed a bill that authorized immediate payment of $2 billion dollars in bonuses. Byt he way, the House vote was 324 for passage, 61 against while the Senate vote was 76 for versus 19 against. Unfortunately this was not the first time in American history that vets got a raw deal, the first time was in 1781 when the vets marched to protest the fact that during the war for independence..they were never paid as promised. In fact, they were not paid at all!
The vets were eventually paid for ther services but it took almost two decades after WWI had ended, bloodshed and death on the streets of the nations capital to acheive what was rightfully theirs as promised. Meanwhile, today, VA hospitals are facing and have had budget cuts....vets programs have been cut...and today you can see many homeless vets on the streets..but the lawn at Arlington National Cememetary is maintained to garden perfection...monuments abound there at tax pays expense..and Congress still holds back on the living vet and other segments of society...mental health programs...homeless funding and passing a liveable minimum wage while they enjoy six figure incomes, free health care, and SUV limos all at your expense. When in DC on a visit and went to the Capital building...I notice two dozen limos parked in their lot adjacent...found out they were indeed Congressional vehicles...I happened to voice my opinion when I entered to building to thepeople I was with..Security overhard me and refuse me entry, I began to protest and was physically removed from the building..not the first I was to protest in DC ...the first tiem was during the Poor Peoples March in the sixties when I was on active duty in the Army when I was arrested by the FBI...lets face it...a vet can't win...or protest without consequences.
Age not withstanding to prohibit me from active duty...count me out of the next war for many reasons..besides..as John Lennon said...Give Peace a Chance..as many of us who served say....Fuck the Army.
The Second American Revolution (The Mutiny of the Continental Army) by Mike Marino The Redcoats Are Coming! The Redcoats Are Coming! The famous shot heard 'round the world also touched off the first American Revolution. I say, the "first" because there was a second revolution in 1783 that broke out just as peace treaty negotions with Great Britain were about to bring an end to the carnage in the colonies. This revolution wasn't over tea or taxation without representation. It wasn't an angry group of colonists in an uproar over the brutality of Britain or a Stamp Tax Act. This time around the revolutionary merry-go-round irate Continental army soldiers staging a mutiny over the lack of bounty when it came to handing out paychecks! They fought for years without adequate pay as promised, and the bonus that was also promised to them became an elusive phantom that never appeared. The mutineers were more than ready to revolt and lead the charge. This time, they weren't going to face off against flashy redcoats. This time left-right-left marched on the temporary continental capital...the enemy they faced this time around was the U.S. Congress!
The colonies, eventually to be known as the United States of America, were getting ready for peace and demobilization in 1783. Peace talks had gone on for over a year and their was now light at the end of the revolutionary tunnel. The Treaty of Paris would eventually end the conflict in September of that year. In June of the same year, we were still in a decalred state of war against Great Britain, albeit at a lower intensity with minor skirmishes the order of the day rather than waging full fledged battles with cannons and muskets filling the battlefields with smoke and blood.
Speaking of wages, most of the Continental Army under the leadeship of General George Washington were not paid during their active duty service, and now that peace was on the horizon it looked like they could soon get back to their families and farms. They were also expecting the promised payments of back salary and a bonus for each soldier that had been agreed to in 1775. That money was not forthcoming. The soldiers waited for the forming Congress to pass legislation and pass out the paychecks, but, apparently they had more important matters on their mind and gradually the promise to pay the soldiers was swept under the congressional rug.
Congress had mistakenly drawn a nebulous line in the sand and the troops weren't about to stand by helplessly. They didn't have social media in those days to take their case to the public and the peoples court of perception, but, they had something better...they had guns, lots of guns, and they had years of on the job training on how to take careful aim and go for the headshots, so they did what the knew best...attack the enemy. This time the enemy was the new government of the United States. A like or share on Facebook doesn't scare Congress....a fully loaded weapon does. Amazing how far a bullet can go to get results.
Once they found out the promise had been broken and not about to be fixed, anger rose like hot lava in a volcano ready to burst through the surface and devour everything in it's path. Farms had been neglected for years due to their abscense from the farm to do military service. Women and children were going hungry on the homefront, while the troops on the battlelines were broke, ill-fed, and ill-clothed, yet somehow had routed a superior well trained force of seasoned British military professionals who were well paid, well clothed and well fed! The irony speaks for itself. It was time for the second revolution...and it expldoed in June of 1783 as the Pennsylvania Mutiny.
Pennsylvania troops were fed up with the Feds, and the mutiny got underway with hundreds of disgruntled Pennsylvania soldiers marching, armed and dangerous on Philidelphia, which was then the capital of the newly forming nation. The soldiers surrounded Independence Hall where the Congress was meeting in session, and in fact were in session when the trouble began. Spokesmen for the soldiers voiced their demands to congressional members in no uncertain terms and many did it with a flintlock in hand. This was one of the first anti-government protests in the new democracy. Forget the recent Occupy Movement ... it didnt' really occupy anything or get anything done. These vets literally not only occupied the capital, but eventually for it's own safety forced the government to move the capital! Now that is an occupy movement if I ever heard of one! (Later during the Spanish American War, the promised bonus was also not paid to THOSE returning veterans. After WWI vets were again not paid which lead to the formation of the American Legion created in 1919 to right the wrongs of the bogus bonus promises that were broken time and time again by Congress and whoever the sitting president was at the time. No wonder Washington is only on a $1.00 bill!)
On June 17, Congress was told to pay up or face the music. The soldiers wanted, and rightly so, all payment for all service they gave during the duration of the war. It was not a request, but, an ultimatum. Congress ignored the voice of the people that was being spoken by the people and for the people. Two days later the capital recieved even more disturbing news. American soldiers were on their way to the "capital" leaving their posts. When they arrived they joined with other soldiers at the city barracks in support of the mutiny. The soldiers had now taken over complete control of the arsenals and now had the upper hand commandeering 100% of the weapons and ammunition in the capital. The military was on strike and hungry to strike at the newly formed goverment. Jefferson had said..."The people should not be afraid of their government...but the government should be afraid of it's people!" This was proof that he was absolutely correct and the government was terrified. Talk about giving congress a reality check! Ah...the good old days, eh?
On June 20 hundreds of soldiers surrounded the State House and refused to let anyone leave the building. Alexander Hamiliton managed to finagle a respite and the troops did allow congress to meet later in session to address their demands. Instead, Hamilton had a secret message sent out for help to put down the mutiny and protect congress! Turns out Benedict Arnold was not the only traitor in early American history as Hamilton was ready to fire on Americans who had fought to win freedom and independence so fat cats like Hamilton could enjoy rank, power and privilege. Remember too...taxes were one factor that ignited the conflagration between the colonies and Great Britain. So what does President Washington do? Imposes a tax on whiskey once he became president. Whiskey was the mainstay of barter for most Americans at the time. This tax led to our third revolution, the Whiskey Rebellion, proving that Hamilton also wasn't the first hypocrite in American politics. George, who promised no unfair taxation, may not have told a lie, but he certainly stretched the truth some when it came to whiskey and taxes. .
Hamiltons request for help went out to the Pennsylvania Executive Council to activate the state militia to battle the soldiers, drive them from the capital using all means necessary with the ultimate goal of pulling congressional asses out of the fire. The council refused their request due to the fact that the Pennsylvania State Militia refused take up arms against their brothers. Congress being what are did what they do best...they fled the capital rather then negotiate and ended up in Princeton, New Jersey. What is interesting is that one of the reasons for the refusal of Pennsylvania to act on behalf of the forming national goverment was simple enough...States Rights! Pennsylvania was a sovereign state and refused to bend to the request of the Congress. Also, the president of the Executive Council was head of the State Militia who had fought in the war himself and refused to give the order to shoot down American soldiers as Hamiliton had requested.
The British army meanwhile were cognizant of the mutiny and the disatisfaction of the American troops and tried to capitalize on the continental crisis by encouring the Americans to defect and to enlist in the British ranks. General Mad Anthony Wayne the of the colonial army was aware of this subterfuge and sent agents out as spies to entice the British agents to approach them. When they did, they were promptly arrested. The mutineers eventually came to terms with Congress and their demands were met over time in regards to back pay and bonuses. The soldiers who engaged in the mutiny were granted immunity. Later the same year, another rebellion broke out involving New Jersey soldiers. This time the mutiny was crushed and a dozen of the troops were ordered to man the firing squad and kill the ringleaders of the revolt.
The Continental Army was in the end victorious over the heavy bootheel of Great Britain and King George. Our own "king" George Washington became the new nations first president. The Continental Army had won the battle for freedom on the fields of war, but also the battle for their rights to pay and bonus as promised, but not without bloodshed spilled on both sides. We still had many wars ahead of us including the most uncivil of Civil Wars against each other in 1861 and all the other wars that followed. Victorious for the most part with more hash marks in the win column, but also our fair share of losses such as Vietnam and stalemates as in Korea.
One thing is certain...the vets should not have to fight for their rights or what was promised to them by an uncaring Congress...remember Congress...the active duty soldiers or vets you try to fuck over...may be armed and dangerous. That goes for any segment of American society that is hungry, lied to or subjected to Congressional apathy. It happened before...it could happen again. Remember what Jefferson said.. The People Should Not Be Afraid of It's Government...The Government Should Be Afraid of It's People....