‘One of the Most Hateful Episodes in American History’

“That was one of the most hateful episodes in American history. Whenever my father and grandfather talked about it, they would turn red with rage.”*

Former CBS newscaster Dan Rather was speaking of the Bonus Army. In 1932, during the Great Depression, World War I veterans and their families came to Washington, D.C. from all over the country to request their veterans’ bonuses. They occupied federal property and riverbanks, and were attacked and driven off by none other than the actively serving U.S. Army. It is ironic that Douglas MacArthur, who led the operation, and the regimental commander, George Patton, later became World War II heroes.

But this incident, in which there were many casualties — women and children included — due to the U.S. army’s repression, was a stain on American history; the incumbent U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, lost the next election badly. And yet now, President Donald Trump calls for deploying the military to quell protests against racism, some of which have morphed into riots, and charged the brass with responding to the demonstrations. The secretary of defense soon ended up providing a counternarrative: “The option to use active duty forces … should only be used as a matter of last resort.”

Surprisingly, former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who is highly respected in the military, openly criticized Trump: “He tries to divide us.” He must have been apprehensive that the military’s foundations would crumble if it were used for Trump’s politics of shoring up support by splitting society into friends and enemies. America’s political-military discord occurs just as Hong Kong’s citizens commemorate the Tiananmen incident in China, when civilians were murdered by the military. And incidentally, the aide to MacArthur who requested that he exercise self-restraint in the repression 88 years ago went on to become a World War II hero and president — Dwight Eisenhower.

*Editor’s note: This quotation, although accurately translated, could not be verified.