March of the Bonus Army

This is the way its been since the Revolutionary Wat vets were thrown into debtors prisons. Soldiers were asking for compensation, with the politicians and media using the term bonus to imply that they were asking for something more, something undeserved.

There's also a book written by Paul Dickson and Thomas Allen that is very well done in detailing the origins and progression of the movement. The Bonus Army: An American Epic. Paul Dickson and Thomas Allen presented a talk about their book, the compelling story of World War I veterans whose demands for better treatment became the Bonus Army March. The bonus was finally paid in 1936, but its ultimate importance lay in paving the way for the passage of the G.I. Bill of Rights on June 22, 1944. Dickson and Allen's book talk marks the 61st anniversary of that bill's passage.

March of the Bonus Army - Part 1 - YouTube