USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In May 1932, jobless WWI veterans organized a group called the “Bonus Expeditionary Forces” (BEF) to march on Washington, DC. Suffering and desperate, the BEF’s goal was to get the bonus payment now, when they really needed the money.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Bonus Army was a group of 43, 000 demonstrators – 17, 000 veterans of U.S. involvement in World War I, their families, and affiliated groups – who gathered in Washington, D.C., in mid-1932 to demand early cash redemption of their service bonus certificates.

Detailed explanation-3: -Bonus Army, gathering of probably 10, 000 to 25, 000 World War I veterans (estimates vary widely) who, with their wives and children, converged on Washington, D.C., in 1932, demanding immediate bonus payment for wartime services to alleviate the economic hardship of the Great Depression.

Detailed explanation-4: -Things stayed in an unsettled condition for the next few weeks, with some veterans leaving but even more arriving, until their number reached somewhere between 10, 000 and 20, 000. Then, on July 28, the Hoover administration sent in the army and police to expel the marchers from Washington.

Detailed explanation-5: -The American soldiers who fought in World War I were no exception. In 1924, WWI vets were voted “Adjusted Compensation” by Congress: $1.25 for each day served overseas, $1.00 for each day served in the States. To the “doughboys, ” it was seen as a bonus. Veterans owed $50 or less were paid immediately.