This Fearless Marine won the Medal of Honor twice, but hated war

Major General Smedley Darlington Butler was born July 30, 1881, in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and died June 21, 1940. He was a war hero and outspoken critic of America’s corrupt wars.

#1 The Spanish-American War

The Spanish-American War.

Lying about his age, Butler enlisted to fight in the Spanish-American War in 1898 when he was 16. He enlisted as a marine sub-lieutenant. He was immediately sent to Guantanamo Bay and then assigned to the USS New York, an armored cruiser, for four months.

#2 First Lieutenant

The Spanish-American War.

On 8 April 1999, he accepted a commission as a first lieutenant in lieu of being mustered out of service. He was sent to Manila, Philippines on garrison duty. Due to the lack of action, he began to drink heavily and was temporarily relieved of command.

#3 Republic of the Philippines

The Spanish-American War.

In October of that year, he led 300 Marines to take Novelata. By noon, Butler’s band had driven the native Filipino troops of the new Philippine Republic out of their town. There was only one casualty on the American side, 10 wounded and 50 incapacitated by the heat.

#4 Deployment in China

Tianjin, China.

By 1900, Butler was sent to Tainjin, China. He fought in the Battle of Tientsin and the Gaselee Expedition. He was badly affected by seeing mutilated human remains in that battle and was shot in the thigh. Despite his injury, he helped other Marines to safety.

#5 Banana Wars

The Banana Wars.

Butler then participated in the corrupt and inhuman occupations known as the Banana Wars to protect the interests of the United Fruit Company. The Banana Wars began with the Mexican-American War and spread throughout the region.

#6 Nicaragua

Nicaragua.

Between 1909 and 1912, he was stationed in Nicaragua. He retook the city of Granada, commanded the 3rd Battalion on the Isthmus of Panama, led a battalion at the Battle of Masaya, and captured Coyotepa Hill. He also overran the Mexican city of Veracruz for six months. He captured all the rebel strongholds in Haiti, the last one in hand-to-hand combat. He won his two Medals of Honor during this period.

#7 It drives me crazy

Haiti.

Although publicly a dedicated soldier, even leading his battalion with a 104-degree fever at one point, he privately criticized the United States. In a letter to his parents, he said: “What drives me crazy is that the whole revolution is inspired and financed by Americans who have investments in wild cats here and want to make good on them by setting up a government that declares a monopoly in favor of their… The whole business is rotten to the core.”

#8 World War I

First World War.

During World War I, he was promoted to brigadier general and was in command of Camp Pantanezen in Brest, France. It was a depot that led the American Expeditionary Force to the front lines. He won three medals during this time for solving many sanitation problems at the warehouse.

#9 Public safety

Quantico.

When the war ended, he became commanding general of the Marine Barracks at Quantico, Virginia. In 1924, he was assigned to the Municipal Crime and Corruption Bureau in Philadelphia. He served as director of public safety, where he was responsible for leading the police and fire departments.

He broke up rackets and profits, raided over 900 bars (within 48 hours), set up checkpoints to track thugs, cracked down on crooked police and enforced prohibition.

#10 China again

Tianjin.

In 1926, he rejoined the Navy and commanded an expeditionary force in Tianjin, China in 1927. His success there earned him a promotion to major general, the youngest ever promoted in the Marine Corps, at the age of 48. In 1931, he was passed up another promotion and retired.

#11 Bonus Army

The “Bonus Army” protests.

During his retirement, he led the “Bonus Army” protests to get veterans the bonuses they were entitled to. He was an anti-war lecturer who compared his military service to being a “high-class man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. (I was a) racketeer and a gangster for capitalism… Maybe I would have given Al Capone some pointers. The best he could do was operate his racket in three districts. We have operated on three continents.

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