Saturday, March 19, 2011

"War Is A Racket" Video USMC General Smedley Butler

Here richly, with ridiculous display,
The Politician’s corpse was laid away.
While all of his acquaintances sneered and slanged, I wept:
For I had longed to see him hanged.
--Hilaire Belloc
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Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881June 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.

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War Is A Racket Video USMC General Smedley Butler & Rage

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