The Greatest Man You've Never Known

Smedley Butler was born July 30, 1881, in Westthe only time that he wore his dress blue uniform
Chester, Pennsylvania, the eldest of three sons.after he left the Marines.
His parents Thomas Stalker Butler and MaudIn perhaps Smedley Butler's bravest act of all, in
(Darlington) Butler had been descended fromearly 1934, Butler alleged the existence of
Quaker families. His father was a lawyer, a judge,a political conspiracy of Wall Street interests to
and for 31 years, a Congressman and chair ofoverthrow President Roosevelt, a series of
the House Naval Affairs Committee, during theallegations that came to be known in the media
Harding and Coolidge administrations.as the Business Plot. In March 1934, the House
Smedley Butler was one of the most highlyof Representatives authorized investigations into
decorated soldiers to ever serve in the military.his allegations by a special committee headed
He is still, to this day, one of only a handful ofby John W. McCormack
men to ever receive the Congressional Medal ofof Massachusetts and Samuel Dickstein of
Honor, Twice.  Butler was decorated for hisNew York. The McCormack-Dickstein committee
leadership and bravery in such conflicts as,was a precursor to the House Committee on
Philippine–American War, where he served inUn-American Activities.
Manila.In November 1934, Butler told the committee
In October, 1899 he saw his first combat actionthat a group of businessmen, claiming to be
when leading 300 Marines to take the townbacked by a private army of 500,000 ex-soldiers
of Noveleta, against Philippino rebels known asand others, intended to establish a fascist
"Insurrectos". In the initial moments of thedictatorship. Butler had been asked to lead it, he
engagement, the top sergeant in Butler's unitsaid, by Gerald P. MacGuire, a bond salesman with
was wounded. Butler panicked, but regained hisGrayson M.P Murphy & Co. The New York
composure and led the Marines in pursuit of theTimes reported that Butler had told friends that
enemy forces. By noon, the Marines hadGeneral Hugh S. Johnson, a former official with
dispersed the rebels and taken the town. In thethe National Recovery Administration, was to be
fighting, one Marine was killed and ten wereinstalled as dictator. Butler said MacGuire had told
wounded. Another 50 Marines were incapacitatedhim the attempted coup was backed by three
by the tropical Philippine heat.million dollars, and that the 500,000 men were
Butler also served in the Boxer Rebellion. Theseprobably to be assembled in Washington, D.C. the
were more commonly referred to by historiansfollowing year. All the parties alleged to be
as The Boxer Uprising, or the Righteous Harmonyinvolved, including Johnson, said there was no truth
Society Movement.   Taking place in China as ain the story, calling it a "joke and a fantasy".
response to imperialist expansion in the yearsOn August 22, Butler met MacGuire at a hotel,
1899-1901.According to Butler's account, it was on this
It was the Boxer Rebellion that Butler was shot inoccasion that MacGuire asked Butler to run a new
the thigh yet still managed to end up saving aveterans organization (The American Legion) and
mans life (who was actually trying to save his,lead a coup attempt against the President.
first) then under "sever fire" got the woundedOn September 13, Paul Comly French,
man to     safety.  For this and othera reporter, who had once been Butler's personal
notorious demonstrations of bravery, Butler wassecretary, met MacGuire in his office. In late
awarded the Brevet Medal which is awarded inSeptember, Butler told Van Zandt that
accordance with Marine Corps Order No. 26co-conspirators would be meeting him at an
(1921), for distinguished conduct and public serviceupcoming Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.
in the presence of the enemy. All of this and heOn November 20, the Committee began
wasn't even nineteen yet.examining evidence. Journalist, Paul Comly
Butler then served in the The Banana Wars, whichFrench broke the story in the Philadelphia
were a series of occupations in the CentralRecord and New York Post on November
Americas and the Caribbean.  The goal being to21. On November 22, The New York
protect American Corporate interests in thatTimes wrote its first article on the story and
region.described it as a "gigantic hoax."  When the
In 1903, Butler was ordered to defend the UScommittee's final report was released,
consulate in Honduras. Since he was in thethe Times said the committee "purported to
Caribbean at the time, he used a convertedreport that a two-month investigation had
banana boat re-named the panther, and sailedconvinced it that General Butler's story of a
1500 miles to the west.Fascist march on Washington was "alarmingly
Smedley then took some time betweentrue" and "It also alleged that definite proof had
campaigns, to get married on June 30, 1905 to been found that the much publicized Fascist
Ethel Conway Peters of Philadelphia in Bay Head,march on Washington, which was to have been
New Jersey. The couple even had time toled by Major. Gen. Smedley D. Butler, retired,
become parents of three children: a daughter,according to testimony at a hearing, was actually
Ethel Peters Butler, and two sons, Smedleycontemplated".  Even at that point Butler was
Darlington, Jr. and Thomas Richard.being portrayed in public by those he had accused,
From then on it seems Butler was having troubleas a foolish, conspiracy theorist. Although The
with processing all the death and destruction heNew York Times had essentially substantiated
had witnessed. In 1908 he suffered a nervousSmedley Butler's claims, He was labeled an angry,
breakdown and took nine (9) months off and"nut-job" by his contractors. Those he accused
worked as a coal miner. Although this may haveincluded   Irénée du Pont, and J.P. Morgan, 
been the case, he still served in other conflicts.and various industrialists and political wanta-be's.
From 1909 to 1912, he served in Nicaragua.Butler's testimony was heard before congress on
In   January 1914 he served off the coast andDecember 29, 1934. Regarding the conversations
his of Mexico, near Veracruz.that he had with  Jerry MacGuire, Butler relayed
In the Haitian Battle with the Cacos  he was ain his testimony: "They presented to me rather a
brilliant strategist and ended up surrounding theconfused picture, and I could not make up my
opposition. The battle (often hand to handmind exactly what they wanted me to do or
combat) is the reason that President Rooseveltwhat their objective was, but it had something to
conferred the second Medal of Honor he received.do with weakening the influence of the
Through out all his meritorious service Smedleyadministration with the soldiers." They had tried in
Butler began to realize the way his world worked.vain to make him angry with the President and his
He began to pay attention to the fashion in whichstaff. Telling him, he had been invited as a
certain men, and institutions, behaved as well asdistinguished guest of the Chicago
thought.Convention. But his name had been taken off the
During World War I, to his disappointment, Butlerlist by Louis Howe, (Secretary to the President.) 
was not assigned to a combat command onThis was just a ruse, to get him to capitulate to
the Western Front. Even though he wrote andthe plan.  In Smedley Butler's testimony he
requested it.certainly gave enough detail to warrant a
In October 1918, he was promoted to the rankcongressional investigation, especially since it
of brigadier general at the age of 37 and placedconcerned the very Presidency of the United
in command of Camp Ponanezen at Brest,States. However, that was not the outcome. It is
France, a debarkation depot that funneled troopsimportant to note this statement by Macguire for
of the American Expeditionary Force to theits revealing nature regarding the financing of The
battlefields.United States. (How we get our money, at this
The Navy Distinguished Service Medal waspoint is by the banking industry (Federal Reserve)
awarded to Smedley for service in World War 1lending it to us at instant interest, meaning instant
for exceptionally meritorious and distinguishedand forever, DEPT!) The statement goes like this:
service in France."He has got to do something about it. He has
However his Military career was winding down,either got to get more money out of us or he
and another equally (maybe more) noble callinghas got to change the method of financing the
was on the horizon. By 1933 Butler wasGovernment, and we are going to see to it that
denouncing capitalism and bankers, confessing thathe does not change that method. He will not
as a Marine general "I was a racketeer forchange it!"
capitalism."After Smedley Butler's testimony (and the
Butler began developing his post-Corps career. Intestimony of others) what should have happened
May 1931, he took part in a commissiondid not.
established by Oregon Governor Julius L. Meier.The Congressional committee preliminary report
The commission laid the foundations forsaid:
the Oregon State Police. He began lecturing at"This committee has had no evidence before it
events and conferences and after his retirementthat would in the slightest degree warrant calling
from the Marines in 1931, he took this up full-time.before it such men as John W. Davis, Gen.Hugh
His donated much of his earnings from hisJohnson, General Harbord, Thomas W. Lamont,
lucrative lecture circuits to the PhiladelphiaAdmiral Sims, or Hanford MacNider. (All involved
unemployment relief. He toured the westernin the plot)
United States, making 60 speeches beforeThe committee will not take cognizance of names
returning for his daughter's marriage to Marinebrought into the testimony which constitute mere
aviator Lieutenant John Wehle. Her wedding washearsay.