Smedley Butler

Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881 – June 21, 1940) was an American major general in the United States Marine Corps. During his 34-year military career, he fought in the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Mexican Revolution, World War I, and the Banana Wars. At the time of his death, Butler was the most decorated Marine in U.S. military history. By the end of his career, Butler had received sixteen medals, including five for heroism; he was awarded the Marine Corps Brevet Medal as well as two Medals of Honor, all for separate actions.

In 1933, Butler was approached by Prescott Bush to help add legitimacy to their Business Plot, when he told a United States congressional committee that a group of wealthy American industrialists were planning a coup d'état to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Butler affirmed the plotters of the coup intended on using Butler, at the head of a group of veterans, to place the federal government under arrest. The individuals involved in the coup all denied the existence of such a plot, but a final report following an investigation by a special House of Representatives committee confirmed his testimony.

After retiring from the Marine Corps, Butler became an outspoken critic of American foreign policy and military interventions, which he saw being driven primarily by U.S. business interests. In 1935, Butler wrote the book War Is a Racket, where he argued that imperialist motivations had been the cause behind several American interventions, many of which he personally participated in. Butler became an anti-war advocate, speaking at meetings organized by veterans, pacifists, and church groups until his death in 1940.