(General Smedley Butler. Photo USMC)
Splash was energized. He had smoked nearly a quarter of a pack of Marlboros and contributed some actual thoughts to the essay the junior attorney would not approve for general distribution. She was a little huffy about that, and suggested we do something that was mildly controversial when Socotra House first addressed it in 2004. That was the time we still knew who the terrorists were, and crazy things still made a certain amount of sense. General Butler was the one who said it, and he was responsible for training the Chairman’s Grandfather when his Ohio Regiment was shipped to France to participate in what we call “The First World War.”
Yesterday, the routine labor of rural farm life left our muscles and joints aching. The events in DC, Europe and Asia had left us exhausted. Loma jackknifed out of the Murphy Bed in the corner in search of coffee. and felt my way to the door. Sunday morning had arrived and people were already out, well jacketed against the moist wet flakes of snow. They watched neighbors over the fence line, walking dogs. After a couple nice days aaround the President’s visit to Culpeper last week, it felt like Spring would never arrive in the county. The Distillery was closed due to the county Blue Laws, but we were prepared for sporting events or any contingency.
There was plenty to do. War may come to Europe. The Olympics in China continue. There are new scandals in Washington. The radio tells us that Russian Marines may be landing somewhere, and that provoked a discussion of the career of one of our own Marines, General Smedley Darlington Butler. His career has enough to keep us going without talking about current affairs, which our attorney supports. We have always had a certain national attention deficit for these sad places far from our shores. We couldn’t help but think of Smedley.
He is a bit of a counter-cultural icon these days, though he represents the start of the American Century better than our crowd represents its end. Smedley came from a distinguished family of Quakers and became the most colorful American officer of his time. He was still in his teens when he was appointed a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps for the War with Spain. He then served in the precincts of the new American Empire. He was in the Philippines in the days of the insurrection against American rule. He served with distinction in China and was decorated for “distinguished conduct and public service in the presence of the enemy near Tientsin.” He also served ashore in Puerto Rico and the Isthmus of Panama.
He organized the Marine presence in Nicaragua before WWI, and participated in the assault and capture of Coyotepe in 1912. His first Medal of Honor was presented following action at Vera Cruz, Mexico, 21 and 22 April 1914, where he commanded the Marines who landed and occupied the city. The following year, he was awarded the second Medal of Honor for bravery and forceful leadership as Commanding Officer of detachments of Marines and sailors of the USS Connecticut in repulsing Caco resistance on Fort Riviere, Haiti, 17 November 1915.
Smedley died in 1940 and they named a ship after him for his accomplishments. It has long been consigned to razor blades, though their use for grooming has been curtailed in the pandemic. Alive, he had a certain gravity about him that radiated like an aura. But he isn’t remembered for any of that. He is remembered for some candid remarks he made just after retirement in 1933. Something in his Quaker background had never been buried despite the 33 years of service. ‘Ole Gimlet Eye looked out at the crowd and said:
“War is just a racket… Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses…I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country’s most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.
I helped make Mexico, 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 purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.
During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could 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.”
Splash said “I think I know why it was only one ship they named after Smedley. His words are uncomfortable. I am retired, too. But I would never say anything like that. He finished his cigarette and decided to break down some boxes to use as kindling. It would take every moment of daylight to try to bring order out of the chaos in the Bunkroom. But at least we were safe on Refuge Farm, and that is a start.
There is some strange stuff going on that would even surprise ole Gimlet Eye. We will tell you about once the legal team ensures there is no potential liability.
Copyright 2004 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com