Joseph P Carey
09-23-05, 02:15 PM
I often kid with the board about Smedley Butler, and the older Marines about being in the same PI training unit as was he, in truth, Smedley Butler was an interesting man, and a renaissance man to boot. He undoubtedly was a Marine’s Marine.
Being born Smedley Darlington Butler, he was born at West Chester, PA on July 30, 1881. Over his parent’s objections, at the age of 16 he left home and enlisted as a Marine. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1898, just 38 days short of his 17th birthday. He was promoted to Brevet Captain for his heroic action during the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900. Thus began a career that lasted 33 years and saw him become one of only two Marines ever to hold double awards of the Navy issue Medal of Honor, and in all likelihood would have had three if Marine officers were allowed to earn the CMoH (Congressional Medal of Honor) during his time and for his actions in the Boxer Rebellion.
Many people today consider Smedley Butler a poster child for the peace movement. What better person to have as an icon leader for such organizations than a famous, one of the most famous, Marines the USA has ever produced, but I think General Butler gets a bad rap here.
It all started in 1929, as a Major General he returned to the USA, after so many years fighting our country’s battles in the Philippine Islands (1898), China (1900 Marine Corps Brevet Medal, the equvalant to the CMoH, which Marine Officers did not qualify for), Honduras (1903), Nicaragua (1909, 1912), Mexico (1914 CMoH), Haiti (1915 CMoH)), and he ended his overseas career in China in 1927. He was the youngest Marine ever to have been so promoted to Major General. However, as a result of a remark made by him, which was not flattering about the Italian dictator Mussolini, and due to political maneuvering by civilians unused to Butler's direct method of action, he failed to be selected for the position of Commandant Marine Corps. This particular occurrence was heartbreaking to the warrior, and by October 1931, Butler had retired form the Corps. He died in Philadelphia in 1940.
He wrote a short book declaring that “WAR is a racket; It always has been…” But, people in the Anti-war community mistook what he had to say, and incorporated it into their rhetoric.
General Butler by no means meant that ‘wars were not to be fought’, but, rather, ‘wars were not to be fought for the profit makers’.
In his last chapter (Chapter Five) titled, “To hell with War’, General Butler writes:
“…An allied commission, it may be recalled, came over shortly before the war declaration and called on the President. The President summoned a group of advisers. The head of the commission spoke. Stripped of its diplomatic language, this is what he told the President and his group:
"There is no use kidding ourselves any longer. The cause of the allies is lost. We now owe you (American bankers, American munitions makers, American manufacturers, American speculators, American exporters) five or six billion dollars.
If we lose (and without the help of the United States we must lose) we, England, France and Italy, cannot pay back this money...and Germany won't.
So..."
Had secrecy been outlawed as far as war negotiations were concerned, and had the press been invited to be present at that conference, or had radio been available to broadcast the proceedings, America never would have entered the World War. But this conference, like all war discussions, was shrouded in utmost secrecy. When our boys were sent off to war they were told it was a "war to make the world safe for democracy" and a "war to end all wars."
Well, eighteen years after, the world has less of democracy than it had then. Besides, what business is it of ours whether Russia or Germany or England or France or Italy or Austria live under democracies or monarchies? Whether they are Fascists or Communists? Our problem is to preserve our own democracy. And very little, if anything, has been accomplished to assure us that the World War was really the war to end all wars..."
In truth, I do not think that General Butler was against the fighting of a war, surely not the fighting of a war to promote democracy for selfless reasons, but he was against the profit makers of war that raised the price of goods sold to the government for war, and also the allies that edged this country into a war that was not ours to fight for the profit of bankers and manufacturers and such.
Should the Antiwar groups use General Butler’s book to promote the antiwar agenda, inform them that they should read the general’s book first.
“I am not a fool as to believe that war is a thing of the past. I know the people do not want war, but there is no use in saying we cannot be pushed into another war."
Major General Smedley D Butler, USMC: War is a Racket.
Being born Smedley Darlington Butler, he was born at West Chester, PA on July 30, 1881. Over his parent’s objections, at the age of 16 he left home and enlisted as a Marine. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1898, just 38 days short of his 17th birthday. He was promoted to Brevet Captain for his heroic action during the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900. Thus began a career that lasted 33 years and saw him become one of only two Marines ever to hold double awards of the Navy issue Medal of Honor, and in all likelihood would have had three if Marine officers were allowed to earn the CMoH (Congressional Medal of Honor) during his time and for his actions in the Boxer Rebellion.
Many people today consider Smedley Butler a poster child for the peace movement. What better person to have as an icon leader for such organizations than a famous, one of the most famous, Marines the USA has ever produced, but I think General Butler gets a bad rap here.
It all started in 1929, as a Major General he returned to the USA, after so many years fighting our country’s battles in the Philippine Islands (1898), China (1900 Marine Corps Brevet Medal, the equvalant to the CMoH, which Marine Officers did not qualify for), Honduras (1903), Nicaragua (1909, 1912), Mexico (1914 CMoH), Haiti (1915 CMoH)), and he ended his overseas career in China in 1927. He was the youngest Marine ever to have been so promoted to Major General. However, as a result of a remark made by him, which was not flattering about the Italian dictator Mussolini, and due to political maneuvering by civilians unused to Butler's direct method of action, he failed to be selected for the position of Commandant Marine Corps. This particular occurrence was heartbreaking to the warrior, and by October 1931, Butler had retired form the Corps. He died in Philadelphia in 1940.
He wrote a short book declaring that “WAR is a racket; It always has been…” But, people in the Anti-war community mistook what he had to say, and incorporated it into their rhetoric.
General Butler by no means meant that ‘wars were not to be fought’, but, rather, ‘wars were not to be fought for the profit makers’.
In his last chapter (Chapter Five) titled, “To hell with War’, General Butler writes:
“…An allied commission, it may be recalled, came over shortly before the war declaration and called on the President. The President summoned a group of advisers. The head of the commission spoke. Stripped of its diplomatic language, this is what he told the President and his group:
"There is no use kidding ourselves any longer. The cause of the allies is lost. We now owe you (American bankers, American munitions makers, American manufacturers, American speculators, American exporters) five or six billion dollars.
If we lose (and without the help of the United States we must lose) we, England, France and Italy, cannot pay back this money...and Germany won't.
So..."
Had secrecy been outlawed as far as war negotiations were concerned, and had the press been invited to be present at that conference, or had radio been available to broadcast the proceedings, America never would have entered the World War. But this conference, like all war discussions, was shrouded in utmost secrecy. When our boys were sent off to war they were told it was a "war to make the world safe for democracy" and a "war to end all wars."
Well, eighteen years after, the world has less of democracy than it had then. Besides, what business is it of ours whether Russia or Germany or England or France or Italy or Austria live under democracies or monarchies? Whether they are Fascists or Communists? Our problem is to preserve our own democracy. And very little, if anything, has been accomplished to assure us that the World War was really the war to end all wars..."
In truth, I do not think that General Butler was against the fighting of a war, surely not the fighting of a war to promote democracy for selfless reasons, but he was against the profit makers of war that raised the price of goods sold to the government for war, and also the allies that edged this country into a war that was not ours to fight for the profit of bankers and manufacturers and such.
Should the Antiwar groups use General Butler’s book to promote the antiwar agenda, inform them that they should read the general’s book first.
“I am not a fool as to believe that war is a thing of the past. I know the people do not want war, but there is no use in saying we cannot be pushed into another war."
Major General Smedley D Butler, USMC: War is a Racket.