World War I veterans arrive in Washington to demand cash bonuses 80 years ago today (1932)


Video: 'The March of the Bonus Army' (late May 1932 at 9:39)

(Sunday, May 29, 1932, during the Great Depression) — With American flags flying before them, sixteen truckloads of World War I veterans arrived in Washington today to demand cash bonuses they weren’t scheduled to receive until 1945. Eventually, 43,000 “Bonus Army” marchers – 17,000 World War I veterans, their families, and affiliated groups – would gather in Washington.