Bonus Army and the G.I. Bill

But fame is theirs - and future days On pillar'd brass
shall tell their praise; Shall tell - when cold neglect is dead -
"These for their country fought and bled."
Philip Freneau

World War One Soldiers' Bonus

"When the World War I soldiers came home victorious in 1918, there were plenty of good jobs and a vigorous economy. In that climate, the veterans supported a 1924 congressional bill that put off the promised bonus for wartime service until 1945, when they would receive their due plus interest. A soldier owed $400 would collect $1,000 by waiting until 1945. However, the Depression replaced any sense of prosperity, and many veterans began pressing their congressional representatives to help them get their hands on the only asset they had left: the promised money.

In 1932, during the Great Depression, about 15,000 unemployed World War I veterans converged on Washington, D.C., to demand an early lump-sum payment of the bonus that had been promised for their wartime services. Although the government refused their pleas for help, about half of this so-called Bonus Expeditionary Force remained near the Capitol. They camped out in destitute conditions until the regular United States Army troops, using tanks and tear gas, drove them away. The bonus army was a product of America's worst economic crisis. It was seeking money that Congress had already voted in 1924, but the payment date had been set for 1945. The desperate veterans eventually dispersed, but their presence symbolized the fact that government had always made special provision, either in the form of money or land, for those who served in combat.

In 1935, Congress passed the bill providing for the immediate cash payment of the war bonuses. Franklin Delano Roosevelt vetoed it. In 1936, FDR vetoed the same bill again. But that year, the House of Representatives overrode him 326-61 on Jan. 24, and on Jan. 27, the Senate voted to override. The next day's Washington Post headline read: "Soldier Bonus Becomes Law as Senate Crushes Veto, 76-19; Full Payment Sped for June 15."
Source: ROUTING A RAGTAG AMERICAN ARMY
By Linda Wheeler - Washington Post Staff Writer http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/archives/Apr99/0066.html

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"

They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob,
When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always there right on the job.
They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead,
Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?

Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime;
Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,
Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,
Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,
And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time.
Why don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,
Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,
Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,
And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time.
Say, don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?


lyrics by Yip Harburg, music by Jay Gorney (1931)
(It was said that this song was about those soldiers of the Bonus Army)

G.I. Bill of Rights

"The G. I. Bill is considered to be the last piece of New Deal legislation. However, the bill which President Franklin D. Roosevelt initially proposed was not as far reaching. The G. I. Bill was created to prevent a repeat of the Bonus March of 1932 and a relapse into the Great Depression after World War II ended. The American Legion (a veterans group) is essentially responsible for many of the bill's provisions. The Legion managed to have the bill apply to all who served in the armed services, including African-Americans and women." (Wikipedia)

"On June 22, 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law the Servicemen's Readjustment Act. This legislation is better known as the G.I. Bill of Rights. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act provided government assistance to World War II veterans as they returned home upon the termination of their military service.

The G.I. Bill provided veterans with low-interest mortgages, unemployment insurance, and financial assistance to attend college. This legislation helped millions of veterans to purchase their first homes. With more people now able to afford homes, the growth of suburbs resulted. Millions of other veterans enrolled in colleges, where the government helped to pay tuition, books, and living expenses at the institutions of the veterans' choice. By 1951, eight million veterans had used G.I. Bill benefits to attend college. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act also provided veterans with unemployment compensation in the amount of twenty dollars per week for up to fifty-two weeks, giving these men the opportunity to return home and to find work.

The G.I. Bill dramatically helped World War II veterans. Homeownership and a college education were out of reach of many Americans before passage of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act. For the first time, many working-class men and African Americans had access to these parts of the American dream, including the 839,000 Ohioans who served. Since World War II, the federal government has expanded G.I. Bill benefits to veterans of other conflicts."
(http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1396)