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Smedley Butler

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Military Personnel

The Resume

    (July 30, 1881-June 21, 1940)
    Born in West Chester, Pennsylvania
    USMC general
    Along with Dan Daly one of only two Marines to win the Congressional Medal of Honor twice
    Wrote 'War is a Racket'
    Saw action in the Philippines, the Boxer Rebellion, Haiti and in Vera Cruz, winning his two Medals of Honor in the last two actions
    Quaker
    Nicknamed 'Old Gimlet Eye'

Why he might be annoying:

    His full name was Smedley Darlington Butler which was bad enough in itself, but he named one of his sons Smedley Darlington Butler, Jr.!
    He quit high school (he was later awarded his high school diploma) 38 days short of graduation to fight in the Spanish American War and lied about his age (he was 16) to join the Marine Corps.
    He abused alcohol, once being relieved of duty because of it.
    He had a Marine Corps tattoo that reached from his throat to his waist.
    Hey, aren't Quakers supposed to be pacifists?

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was unequaled in battlefield leadership and was particularly noted for incurring low casualties while inflicting maximum casualties on the other side. In one battle in Haiti he and his men killed 200 bandits while losing none.
    He suffered from mental illness, once taking a leave of absence from the Marine Corps after suffering a nervous breakdown and, after retirement, claimed that he had been asked to lead a 500,000 man army to overthrow President Franklin Roosevelt.
    He worked as a coal miner.
    He wrote and spoke out against American military adventurism and admitted that his actions in Central America and the Caribbean had been to protect American businesses there.
    During the American occupation of Haiti he set up a police force, public work projects and social services.
    He received a leave of absence for two years to serve as Philadelphia's Department of Public Safety. Within 48 hours he had over 900 speakeasies raided. He fired corrupt cops, enforced tough standards on the good ones and offered promotions for killings hoods. He later said cleaning up Philadelphia was tougher than any battle that he was ever involved in.
    He tried to return his first Medal of Honor, feeling it undeserved.
    He fought in one action in Nicaragua with a temperature of 104!
    If you are a legend in the United States Marine Corps, you deserve to be called a legend.

Credit: tom_jeffords


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 25 Votes: 48.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 6695 Votes: 40.49% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 170 Votes: 52.35% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 18 Votes: 72.22% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 74 Votes: 52.70% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 1054 Votes: 43.74% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 925 Votes: 28.65% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 654 Votes: 48.62% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 18 Votes: 27.78% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 166 Votes: 42.77% Annoying