Smedley Butler

Smedley Butler
Smedley D. Butler
Nickname(s)	"Old Gimlet Eye" "The Fighting Quaker" "Old Duckboard"
Place of burial	Oaklands Cemetery West Chester, Pennsylvania
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1898–1931
Rank	Major General
Commands	13th Regiment Marine Expeditionary Force, China
Battles/wars	Spanish-American War Boxer Rebellion Battle of Tientsin Battle of San Tan Pating Banana Wars Mexican Revolution Second Battle of Veracruz World War I China Expedition
Awards	Medal of Honor (2) Marine Corps Brevet Medal Army Distinguished Service Medal Navy Distinguished Service Medal French Order of the Black Star
Other work	Writer and speaker Director of Public Safety (Philadelphia) (1924–1925)

Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881 – June 21, 1940), nicknamed "The Fighting Quaker" and "Old Gimlet Eye", was a Major General in the U.S. Marine Corps and, at the time of his death, the most decorated Marine in U.S. history.

During his 34 years of Marine Corps service, Butler was awarded numerous medals for heroism including the Marine Corps Brevet Medal (the highest Marine medal at its time for officers), and subsequently the Medal of Honor twice. Notably, he is one of only 19 people to be twice awarded the Medal of Honor, and one of only three to be awarded a Marine Corps Brevet Medal and a Medal of Honor, and the only person to be awarded a Marine Corps Brevet Medal and a Medal of Honor for two different actions.

In addition to his military career, Smedley Butler was noted for his outspoken anti-interventionist views, and his book War is a Racket. His book was one of the first works describing the workings of the military-industrial complex and after retiring from service, he became a popular speaker at meetings organized by veterans, pacifists and church groups in the 1930s.

In 1934, he alleged to the United States Congress that a group of wealthy industrialists had plotted a military coup known as the Business Plot to overthrow the government of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The allegations were controversial.

Early life and family

Butler was born July 30, 1881 in West Chester, Pennsylvania, the eldest in a family of three sons. His parents, Thomas Stalker Butler and Maud (Darlington) Butler, were both members of local Quaker families. His father was a lawyer, judge, and, for 31 years, a Congressman who was chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee during the Harding and Coolidge administrations.

Butler was educated at the West Chester Friends Graded High School and later at The Haverford School, a secondary school for sons of upper-class Quaker families near Philadelphia. While he was a student at Haverford he was an athlete, participating as Captain of the baseball team and quarterback of the football teams at Haverford. He dropped out of school 38 days before his 17th birthday to join the Marines, although his father did not approve. Haverford later awarded him the diploma June 6, 1898 before the end of his final year which states he completed the Scientific Course "with Credit"

Butler married Ethel Conway Peters of Philadelphia in Bay Head, New Jersey on June 30, 1905. His best man at the wedding was his former Commanding Officer in China, Lieutenant Colonel Littleton W. T. Waller. The couple had a daughter, Ethel Peters, and two sons, Smedley Darlington Jr. and Thomas Richard.^[1] He was then posted to garrison duty in the Philippines. While in the philippines Butler launched a resupply mission across the stormy waters of Subic Bay after his isolated outpost ran out of rations. He was eventually diagnosed with "nervous breakdown" in 1908 and he was given 9 months sick leave. He returned home and spent a successful time in the West Virginia coal mining business. Despite an offer of permanent employment from the owners, he returned to the Corps.

Military career

Despite his father's desire that he remain in school, Smedley Butler dropped out when the United States declared war against Spain in 1898. Due to his young age (he was only 16 years old) Butler lied about how old he was in order to secure a commission in the Marines as a second lieutenant. After three weeks of basic training, Second Lieutenant Butler was sent to Guantanamo, Cuba, in July 1898, although he saw no action there because the bay was already secured.

Boxer Rebellion

Butler was twice wounded during the Chinese Boxer Rebellion: once in Tientsin and once in San Tan Pating. During the Battle of Tientsin on July 13, 1900, Butler climbed out of a trench to retrieve a wounded officer for medical attention, whereupon he was shot in the thigh. Another Marine helped the wounded Butler to safety but was himself shot; Butler continued to assist the first man to the rear. Four enlisted men received the Medal of Honor for their actions in the battle. Butler's Commanding Officer, Major Littleton W. T. Waller personally commended his actions in his report and recommended "for such reward as you may deem proper the following officers: Lieutenant Smedley D. Butler, for the admirable control of his men in all the fights of the week, for saving a wounded man at the risk of his own life, and under a very severe fire." Although officers were not eligible to receive the Medal of Honor at the time, Butler received a promotion to captain by brevet, in recognition of his bravery in the incident. Butler received his promotion while in the hospital recovering, two weeks before his nineteenth birthday. He would later become one of only 20 Marines to be awarded the U.S.M.C. Brevet Medal when the decoration was created in 1921. In addition to wounds he received in Tientsin, Butler was also shot in the chest at San Tan Pating, purportedly clipping a chunk of Central America out of a large Eagle, Globe, and Anchor tattoo on his torso.

Honduras

In 1903 Butler was stationed on the Caribbean Island of Culebra when the United States ordered that the Marines and several naval ships proceed to Honduras, 1500 miles to the west. Butler and his Marines were tasked with protecting the U.S. Consulate in Honduras from rebels after a revolution had started. Butler and several hundred Marines were transported aboard a converted banana boat called Panther and proceeded to the port town of Puerto Cortes. In a letter home Butler stated that when they landed they were "prepared to land and shoot everybody and everything that was breaking the peace", but instead found a quiet town. After staying for a short time, the Marines aboard the Panther, continued to travel up the coast line stopping at several towns along the way looking for the revolution, but found nothing. When the Panther sailed to the town of Trujillo however, they arrived to the sounds of gunfire from a 55 hour battle between the Bonillistas and the regular soldiers at the towns fort. Butler took some Marines and marched through the town to the American consulate, were he found the consul, wrapped in an American flag, hiding in the floor beams. At the sight of the Marines passing through the town the fighting ceased but as soon as the marines left the battle continued until the Bonillistas controlled the whole government.

It was during this expedition Butler earned the first of several colorful nicknames, "Old Gimlet Eye", attributed to the feverish, bloodshot eyes which enhanced his habitually penetrating and bellicose stare.

Central America

From 1909 to 1912, he served in Nicaragua enforcing US policy, and while there once led his battalion to the relief of the rebel-besieged city of Granada with a 104-degree fever. In December 1909, he commanded the 3d Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment on the Isthmus of Panama, but on August 11, 1912 was temporarily detached to command an expeditionary battalion organized for service in Nicaragua during which he participated in the bombardment, assault and capture of Coyotepec from October 12, 1912 to October 31, 1912. He remained on duty in Nicaragua until November 1912 at which time he rejoined the Marines of 3d Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at Camp Elliott, Panama.

First Medal of Honor for Veracruz, Mexico in 1914

Marine Officers at Vera Cruz. Front row, left to right: Wendell C. Neville; John A. Lejeune; Littleton W. T. Waller, Commanding; Smedley Butler

Between the Spanish-American War and the US entry into the first World War in 1917, Butler achieved the distinction, shared with only one other Marine (Dan Daly) since that time, of being twice awarded the Medal of Honor for separate incidents of outstanding gallantry in action.

The first award was for his activities in the United States occupation of Veracruz, Mexico in 1914. But the large number of Medals of Honor awarded during that campaign—one for the Army, nine for Marines and 46 to Navy personnel—diminished the medal's prestige. During World War I, Butler, then a major, attempted to return his Medal of Honor, explaining that he had done nothing to deserve it. It was returned to him with orders that not only was he to keep it but that he was to wear it as well.

Second Medal of Honor for Haiti in 1915

File:CaptureofFtRiviere.jpg

Capture of Fort Riviere, Haiti, 1915, by D. J. Neary; illustrations of Maj Smedley Butler, Sgt Iams, and Pvt Gross (USMC art collection)

At the outset of the United States occupation of Haiti (1915-1934), the Marines defended the dictator Vilbrun Guillaume Sam against the Cacos rebels. On October 24, 1915 a patrol of forty-four mounted Marines led by Butler was ambushed by some 400 Cacos. The Marines maintained their perimeter throughout the night, and early the next morning they charged the much larger enemy force from three directions. The startled Haitians fled. Sergeant Major Dan Daly received a Medal of Honor for his gallantry in the battle.

By mid-November 1915 most of the Cacos had been suppressed. The remainder took refuge at Fort Rivière, an old French-built stronghold deep within the country. Fort Rivière sat atop Montagne Noire, with its front reachable only by a steep, rocky slope, while the other three sides fell away so sharply that an approach from those directions was impossible. Some Marine officers argued that it should be assaulted by a regiment supported by artillery, but Butler convinced his colonel to allow him to attack with just four companies of 24 men each, plus two machine gun detachments. Butler and his men took the rebel stronghold on November 17, 1915, for which he received his second Medal of Honor, as well as the Haitian Medal of Honor. Major Butler recalled that his troops "hunted the Cacos like pigs." His exploits impressed Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, who recommended the award based upon Butler's performance during an engagement in which 200 Cacos were killed with none taken alive, while one Marine was struck by a rock and lost two teeth.

Later, as the initial organizer and commanding officer of the Haitian Gendarmerie, the native police force, Butler established a record as a capable administrator. Under his supervision social order, under the dictatorship, was largely restored and many vital public works projects were successfully completed.

World War I

Butler (far right) with three other legendary Marines. From left to right: Sergeant Major John Henry Quick, Major General Wendell Cushing Neville, Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune

During World War I, Butler, much to his disappointment, was not assigned to a combat command on the Western Front. He made several attempts at being stationed in France, writing letters to his personal friend Major General Wendell Cushing Neville, who was at the time assistant to the then Commandant of the Marine Corps, Lieutenant General John A. Lejeune. While his superiors considered him brave and brilliant, they also described him as "unreliable." He was, however, promoted to the rank of brigadier general at the age of 37 and placed in command of Camp Pontanezen at Brest, France, a debarkation depot that funneled troops of the American Expeditionary Force to the battlefields, in October 1918. The camp had been plagued by horribly unsanitary, overcrowded and disorganized conditions. US Secretary of War Newton Baker sent novelist Mary Roberts Rinehart to report on the camp. She later described how Butler began by solving the mud problem: "[T]he ground under the tents was nothing but mud, [so] he had raided the wharf at Brest of the duckboards no longer needed for the trenches, carted the first one himself up that four-mile hill to the camp, and thus provided something in the way of protection for the men to sleep on." General John J. Pershing authorized a duckboard shoulder patch for the units. This earned Butler another nickname, "Old Duckboard." For his exemplary service Butler was awarded not only the Distinguished Service Medal of both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy, but also the French Order of the Black Star.

Following the war Butler became Commanding General of the Marine Barracks at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia and served in this capacity until January 1924, when he was granted leave of absence to accept the post of Director of Public Safety of the City of Philadelphia. While at Quantico he transformed the wartime training camp into a permanent Marine post. During a training exercise in western Virginia in 1921, he came across the burial place of Stonewall Jackson's arm; he dug it up, and replaced it in a metal box and leaving plaque, which is no longer there.

Director of Public Safety

At the urging of Butler's father, U. S. Rep. Thomas S. Butler, the newly elected mayor of Philadelphia, W. Freeland Kendrick, asked Butler to leave the Marines to become Director of Public Safety, the official in charge of running the police and fire departments. Philadelphia's municipal government was notoriously corrupt. Butler refused at first, but when Kendrick asked President Calvin Coolidge to intervene, and Coolidge contacted Butler to say that he could take the necessary leave from the Corps, Butler agreed. He served in the post from January 1924 until December 1925.

Within days of taking over, Butler ordered raids on more than 900 speakeasies. He also went after bootleggers, prostitutes, gamblers and corrupt police officers. Butler was more zealous than politic in his duties; in addition to cracking down on gangsters and working-class drinking dives, he saw no reason to spare the social elite's favorite speakeasies, the Ritz-Carlton and the Union League. After almost two years in office Butler resigned under pressure. He later said, "Cleaning up Philadelphia was worse than any battle I was ever in."

China and stateside service

From 1927 to 1929, Butler was commander of the Marine Expeditionary Force in China. He cleverly parlayed his influence among various generals and warlords to the protection of US interests, and ultimately won the public acclaim of contending Chinese leaders.

When Butler returned to the United States in 1929 he was promoted. At the age of 48, he became the Marine Corps' youngest major general. He directed the Quantico camp's growth until it became the "showplace" of the Corps. Butler also won national attention by taking thousands of his men on long field marches, many of which he led from the front, to Gettysburg and other Civil War battle sites where they conducted large-scale re-enactments before crowds of often distinguished spectators.

In 1931, Butler publicly recounted gossip about Benito Mussolini in which the dictator allegedly struck a child with his automobile in a hit-and-run accident. The Italian government protested and President Hoover, who strongly disliked Butler, forced Secretary of the Navy Charles Francis Adams III to court-martial him. Butler became the first general officer to be placed under arrest since the Civil War. He apologized to Secretary Adams and the court martial was canceled with only a reprimand.

Military retirement and later years

Major General Butler at his retirement ceremony

When Major General Wendell C. Neville died in July 1930 many expected Butler to succeed him as Commandant of the Marine Corps. Butler, however, had criticized too many things too often, and the recent death of his influential congressman father had removed some of his protection from the hostility of his civilian superiors. Butler failed to receive the appointment, even though he was then the senior major general on the active list. The position went instead to Major General Ben H. Fuller. At his own request, Butler retired from active duty on October 1, 1931.

Speaking and writing career and Anti-War activity

After his retirement from the Marines in 1931, Butler took up a lucrative career on the lecture circuit. He was also part of a commission established by Oregon Governor Julius L. Meier which helped form the Oregon State Police. In 1932, he ran for the U.S. Senate in the Republican primary in Pennsylvania, allied with Gifford Pinchot, but was defeated by Senator James J. Davis.

Smedley Butler at one of his many speaking engagements after his retirement in the 1930s.

Butler was known for his outspoken lectures against war profiteering and what he viewed as nascent fascism in the United States. During the 1930s he gave many such speeches to pacifist groups. Between 1935 and 1937 he served as a spokesman for the American League Against War and Fascism (which some considered communist-dominated).

In his 1935 book, War Is a Racket, Butler presented an exposé and trenchant condemnation of the profit motive behind warfare. His views on the subject are well summarized in the following passage from a 1935 issue of "the non-Marxist, socialist" magazine, Common Sense – one of Butler's most widely quoted statements:

"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."

Claims of the Business Plot

Main article: Business Plot

The Business Plot was a political conspiracy which involved wealthy businessmen plotting a coup d’état to overthrow United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1934, Butler came forward and testified to the McCormack-Dickstein Congressional committee that a group of wealthy pro-Fascist industrialists had been plotting to overthrow the government and had approached him to lead it.

In March 1934, the House of Representatives authorized investigations into "un-American" activities by a special committee headed by John W. McCormack of Massachusetts and Samuel Dickstein of New York. The McCormack-Dickstein Committee investigated Smedley Butler's allegations as well as a number of other high profile topics of the era. In the opinion of the committee these allegations were credible. One of the purported plotters, Gerald MacGuire, vehemently denied any such plot. In their report, the Congressional committee stated that it was able to confirm Butler's statements other than the proposal from MacGuire which it considered more or less confirmed by MacGuire's European reports. However, no prosecutions or further investigations followed and some historians have questioned whether or not a coup was actually close to execution, although most agree that some sort of "wild scheme" was contemplated and discussed. Media initially dismissed the plot, with a The New York Times editorial characterizing it as a "gigantic hoax;" When the committee's final report was released, the Times said the committee "purported to report that a two-month investigation had convinced it that General Butler's story of a Fascist march on Washington was alarmingly true" and "It also alleged that definite proof had been found that the much publicized Fascist march on Washington, which was to have been led by Major. Gen. Smedley D. Butler, retired, according to testimony at a hearing, was actually contemplated".

The McCormack-Dickstein Committee, which was a precursor to the House Un-American Activities Committee, confirmed some of Butler's accusations in its final report stating:

"In the last few weeks of the committee's official life it received evidence showing that certain persons had made an attempt to establish a fascist organization in this country...There is no question that these attempts were discussed, were planned, and might have been placed in execution when and if the financial backers deemed it expedient."

Death

After travelling extensively doing lectures Smedley Butler checked himself into the Naval Hospital in Philadelphia after being ill and died there on June 21, 1940. His doctor had described his illness as an incurable condition of the upper gastro-intestinal tract, probably cancer. He was buried at Oaklands Cemetery in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Honors and awards

Military awards

Butler was the recipient of the following awards:

			File:National Order of Merit Officer Ribbon.png

1st row	Medals of Honor w/ 1 award star	Marine Corps Brevet Medal	Navy Distinguished Service Medal	Army Distinguished Service Medal
2nd row	Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal	Spanish Campaign Medal	West Indies Naval Campaign Medal	China Relief Expedition Medal
3rd row	Philippine Campaign Medal	Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1912)	Haitian Campaign Medal (1917)	Dominican Campaign Medal
4th row	Mexican Service Medal	World War I Victory Medal w/ Maltese cross	Yangtze Service Medal	National Order of Merit (France), Officer grade

First Medal of Honor citation

Citation:

For extraordinary heroism in action as Commanding Officer of detachments from the 5th, 13th, 23d Companies and the Marine and sailor detachment from the U.S.S. Connecticut, Major Butler led the attack on Fort Riviere, Haiti, 17 November 1915. Following a concentrated drive, several different detachments of Marines gradually closed in on the old French bastion fort in an effort to cut off all avenues of retreat for the Caco bandits. Reaching the fort on the southern side where there was a small opening in the wall, Major Butler gave the signal to attack and Marines from the 15th Company poured through the breach, engaged the Cacos in hand-to-hand combat, took the bastion and crushed the Caco resistance. Throughout this perilous action, Major Butler was conspicuous for his bravery and forceful leadership.

Second Medal of Honor citation

Citation:

For distinguished conduct in battle, engagement of Vera Cruz, 22 April 1914. Major Butler was eminent and conspicuous in command of his battalion. He exhibited courage and skill in leading his men through the action of the 22d and in the final occupation of the city.

Marine Corps Brevet Medal citation

Secretary of the Navy citation:

The Secretary of the Navy takes pleasure in transmitting to First Lieutenant Smedley Darlington Butler, United States Marine Corps, the Brevet Medal which is awarded in accordance with Marine Corps Order No. 26 (1921), for distinguished conduct and public service in the presence of the enemy while serving with the Second Battalion of Marines, near Tientsin, China, on 13 July 1900. On 28 March 1901, First Lieutenant Butler is appointed Captain by brevet, to take rank from 13 July 1900.

Army Distinguished Service Medal

Citation:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Brigadier General Smedley Darlington Butler, United States Marine Corps, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. Brigadier General Butler commanded with ability and energy Pontanezen Camp at Brest during the time in which it has developed into the largest embarkation camp in the world. Confronted with problems of extraordinary magnitude in supervising the reception, entertainment and departure of the large numbers of officers and soldiers passing through this camp, he has solved all with conspicuous success, performing services of the highest character for the American Expeditionary Forces.

Navy Distinguished Service Medal

Citation:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Brigadier General Smedley Darlington Butler, United States Marine Corps, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services in France, during World War I. Brigadier General Butler organized, trained and commanded the 13th Regiment Marines; also the 5th Brigade of Marines. He commanded with ability and energy Camp Pontanezen at Brest during the time in which it has developed into the largest embarkation camp in the world. Confronted with problems of extraordinary magnitude in supervising the reception, entertainment and departure of large numbers of officers and soldiers passing through the camp, he has solved all with conspicuous success, performing services of the highest character for the American Expeditionary Forces.

Other awards

In addition to the Medal of Honor and his other military awards Butler also received several awards from other countries and had several things named in his honor.

USS Butler (DD-636)

The USS Butler (DD-636), a Gleaves-class destroyer, was named in his honor in 1942. This vessel participated in the European and Pacific theaters of operations during the Second World War. It was later converted to a high speed minesweeper.

Smedley D. Butler Brigade

The Boston, Massachusetts, chapter of Veterans for Peace is called the Smedley D. Butler Brigade in his honor. Butler was featured in the documentary film The Corporation. In his book My First Days in the White House, Senator Huey Long of Louisiana stated that, if elected to the presidency, he would name Butler as his Secretary of War.

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• List of Medal of Honor recipients for the 1914 United States occupation of Veracruz
• List of Historically Important U.S. Marines
• War Is a Racket

References

General

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• "Butler". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. Retrieved 2007-10-14.

• Butler, Smedley D. (1935; reprint, 2003). War Is a Racket. Los Angeles: Feral House. ISBN 0-922915-86-5. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)

• Frazier, Wade (2002). "The Business of War". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

• McFall, J. Arthur (2003). "After 33 years of Marine service, Smedley Butler became an outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy". Military History. 19 (6): 16. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

• Schmidt, Hans (1987). Maverick Marine: General Smedley D. Butler and the Contradictions of American Military History. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813116198.

• Schmidt, Hans (1998). Maverick Marine: General Smedley D. Butler and the Contradictions of American Military History. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-0957-4.

• Valaik, J. David (2000). "Smedley D. Butler". American National Biography Online. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

• Venzon, Anne Cipriano (1992). General Smedley Darlington Butler: The Letters of a Leatherneck, 1898-1931. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-275-94141-8.

• "Smedley D. Butler". Dictionary of American Biography, Supplements 1-2: to 1940.

• Schlesinger Jr., Arthur M. (2003). The Politics of Upheaval: 1935-1936, The Age of Roosevelt, Volume III (The Age of Roosevelt). Mariner Books. ISBN 0-618-34087-4.

Inline

Further Reading

• James O. Muschett (Project Editor), ed. (2007-12-06) [2002]. USMC: A Complete History. Beth L. Crumley (Illustration Editor), Charles J. Ziga(Design) (Beaux Arts ed.). Printed in China: Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc. pp. 135, 146–149, 151, 154–155, 165–166, 216–217. ISBN 0-88363-617-4. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |editor= has generic name (help)

• Archer, Jules (2007). The Plot to Seize the Whitehouse: The Shocking True Story of the Conspiracy to Overthrow FDR. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-6023-9036-2.

• Thomas, Lowell (1933). Old Gimlet Eye: The adventures of Smedley D. Butler. Farrar & Rinehart. ASIN: B00085MY0Q. "While still interesting, it is neither scholarly nor unbiased." – American National Biography Online

• Clyde H. Metcalf (1939). A Hist. of the U. S. Marine Corps.
• Clyde H. Metcalf (1944). Marine Corps Reader.
• Brigadier-General Smedley D. Butler and First-Lieutenant Arthur J. Burks (1927). Walter Garvin in Mexico. Dorrance, Philadelphia.
• Marine Corps Gazette. 1949. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Marine Corps Gazette. 1950. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• The New York Times. 1940-06-22.
• New York Herald Tribune. 1940-06-22.
• New York Herald Tribune. 1940-06-23.

External links

• Smedley Butler at Find a Grave Retrieved on 2007-10-12
• Butler, Smedley D. (1935, reprint 2003). War is A Racket. Round Table Press (first printing) Feral House (reprint). ISBN 0-922915-86-5. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); External link in |title= (help)
• The Business of War excerpt from the article with the same name (original article at link to right),
• Frazier, Wade (2002). "The Business of War". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

• Excerpts of the book dealing with some of his post-retirement activities Maverick Marine: General Smedley D. Butler and the Contradictions of American Military History,
• Camp Smedley Butler website
• Link to his book on "War as a Racket."
• Major General Smedley Butler USMC
• Smedley Butler on Interventionism
• The Fascist Plot to Seize Washington