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Smedley butler threat11/25/2023 In January 1924 Smedley Butler was sworn in (wearing his Marine uniform) as the Director of Public Safety in Philadelphia. This no-nonsense notoriety led the mayor of Philadelphia to request that General Butler be sent on “loan” from the corps to take control of the city’s police force and sweep away the crime and corruption that had become rampant during Prohibition. Ward describes it, Butler transformed the camp from a sea of mud into an orderly way station in a matter of weeks.Īfter the war, as Commandant of the Marine barracks at Quantico, Butler “had a reputation for blunt, honest talk, complete honesty, impatience, and an insistence on discipline,” writes historian Ellen C. “Thin and wire-tough, with a raptor’s nose and a glare so fierce his men called him ‘Old Gimlet Eye,’” historian Geoffrey C. Promoted to Brigadier General in October 1918, he was placed in charge of the demarcation depot at Brest, the gateway for the U.S. When the United States entered World War I, Butler was deployed to France - not as a fighter, surprisingly, but as an administrator. Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels called Butler “a steam engine in breeches…He doesn’t know what fear is.” In the century since his accomplishment, only eighteen other men have been able to match it. service member to earn two Medals of Honor. occupation (which would continue until 1934).įor his actions in Mexico and Haiti, Smedley Butler became the first U.S. He remained in-country for a time to organize and command the Gendarmerie, the enforcement arm of the U.S. The next year, during the American pacification of Haiti, Butler led a storming party of Marines at the Battle of Fort Rivière, scaling a 300-foot embankment before he and two other men crawled through a drain pipe to capture the stronghold from the dozens of rebels inside. If his disguise had been discovered at any time, he would have been promptly shot as a spy. Once in Mexico City, the Marine posed as various alter egos (including a railroad employee, private investigator, and geologist), bluffing his way into inspecting Meixcan troop arrangements before returning to the fleet with vital information. In coordination with his commanding officer, Butler donned civilian clothes and sneaked to shore. In 1914, during President Woodrow Wilson’s intervention in the Mexican Civil War, Major Butler found himself stationed with a battleship squadron off the coast of Veracruz. Joined by his young bride, Butler would return to the Philippines before spending the turn of the decade leading a Marine battalion into battles in Panama and Nicaragua. Peters, the daughter of a wealthy railroad executive with whom he would have three children. Briefly returning stateside, he married Ethel C. What followed in short order were deployments to the Philippines, China (where Butler was wounded during the Boxer Rebellion), and Honduras. The future president called the young Marine “the ideal American soldier,” simply “the finest fighting man in the armed forces.” Supporters would positively compare Smedley to TR for the rest of his life. His reckless courage garnered the attention of Theodore Roosevelt, then commander of the Rough Riders in Cuba. The spotlight shone on him as soon as he landed at Guantanamo Bay. Bucking paternal coddling, Butler fled the coop and successfully enlisted in the Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant by falsely giving the birthdate of his older brother. When the United States declared war on Spain in April 1898, the sixteen year old attempted to enlist and was denied because of his youth - his congressman father went so far as to have his name blacklisted among local recruiting stations.
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