Editing Douglas MacArthur (section)

====Bonus Army====
One of MacArthur's most controversial acts came in 1932, when the "[[Bonus Army]]" of veterans converged on Washington. He sent tents and camp equipment to the demonstrators, along with mobile kitchens, until an outburst in Congress caused the kitchens to be withdrawn. MacArthur was concerned that the demonstration had been taken over by communists and pacifists but the General Staff's intelligence division reported that only three of the march's 26 key leaders were communists. MacArthur went over contingency plans for civil disorder in the capital. Mechanized equipment was brought to Fort Myer, where anti-riot training was conducted.{{sfn|James|1970|pp=389–392}}

[[File:Bonus marchers 05510 2004 001 a.gif|thumb|left|Bonus Army marchers confront the police.|alt= Police with batons confront demonstrators armed with bricks and clubs. A policeman and a demonstrator wrestle over a U.S. flag.]]
On 28 July 1932, in a clash with the District police, two veterans were shot, and later died. President [[Herbert Hoover]] ordered MacArthur to "surround the affected area and clear it without delay".{{sfn|James|1970|p=397}} MacArthur brought up troops and tanks and, against the advice of Major [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], decided to accompany the troops, although he was not in charge of the operation. The troops advanced with bayonets and sabers drawn under a shower of bricks and rocks, but no shots were fired. In less than four hours, they cleared the Bonus Army's campground using tear gas. The gas canisters started a number of fires, causing the only death during the riots. While not as violent as other anti-riot operations, it was nevertheless a public relations disaster.{{sfn|Leary|2001|pp=36–38}} However, the defeat of the "Bonus Army", while unpopular with the American people at large, did make MacArthur into the hero of the more right-wing elements in the Republican Party who believed that the general had saved America from a communist revolution in 1932.{{sfn|Murray|Millet|2001|p=181}}

In 1934, MacArthur sued journalists [[Drew Pearson (journalist)|Drew Pearson]] and [[Robert S. Allen]] for defamation after they described his treatment of the Bonus marchers as "unwarranted, unnecessary, insubordinate, harsh and brutal".{{sfn|Manchester|1978|p=156}} Also accused for proposing 19-gun salutes for friends, MacArthur asked for $750,000 (equivalent to ${{format price|{{inflation|US-GDP|750000|1934}}}} in {{inflation/year|US-GDP}}){{inflation/fn|US-GDP}} to compensate for the damage to his reputation.<ref>{{cite web |last= Stein |first= Jacob A. |date= November 2001 |title= Legal Spectator: Defamation |website=DCBar.org |url= https://www.dcbar.org/bar-resources/publications/washington-lawyer/articles/november-2001-legal-spectator.cfm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161105050331/https://www.dcbar.org/bar-resources/publications/washington-lawyer/articles/november-2001-legal-spectator.cfm |url-status= dead |archive-date= 5 November 2016}}</ref> The journalists threatened to call [[Isabel Rosario Cooper]] as a witness. MacArthur had met Isabel while in the Philippines, and she had become his mistress. MacArthur was forced to settle out of court, secretly paying Pearson $15,000{{sfn|Petillo|1981|pp=164–166}} ({{inflation|US-GDP|15000|1934|r=-3|fmt=eq}}).{{inflation/fn|US-GDP}}