The wound put him in a field hospital, and while he was recuperating there a promotion board advanced him to the rank of captain-at the still tender age of 18.

In Tientsin he was shot in the thigh while helping to rescue a wounded Marine under heavy fire. Butler was still young, but he matured rapidly as an officer in China, where he was wounded twice while fighting the Boxers. The Marines were sent from the Philippines to join an international expedition to protect their nationals from the depredations of the dangerous zealots. The Boxers were a fanatical, well-armed movement that had arisen in the cities to oppose the corrupt Dowager Empress and her equally venal government, and they were also ferociously antiforeign. In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion erupted in far-off China. Butler had a huge Marine Corps globe-and-anchor insignia tattooed painfully on his chest, a visible sign of his loyalty and devotion to the Corps. His battalion returned to the soft garrison life at Cavite, an existence highlighted by cockfights, riding lessons, and visits to a local tattoo parlor. That was the end of the Philippine campaign for Butler. It took a while, but the rebels were finally defeated, and the teenage lieutenant could feel that he was a real fighting Marine at last.

In the face of heavy rifle fire, and in spite of his own admitted panic, Butler rallied his company and drove the insurgents out of their positions and through waist-deep rice paddies. Butler was one of only two Marines to receive two Medals of Honor for separate acts of heroism. Recently promoted to first lieutenant, Butler took over command of his company when the original commander was promoted and soon found himself leading a mission against rebels entrenched outside a nearby town. Following a relatively quiet period of garrison life in Manila, Butler’s battalion was ordered to the naval station at Cavite, where some heavy fighting was taking place. The Philippine insurrection may not have been a major war, but like all such affairs it got plenty nasty, and Butler was soon embroiled in his first real firefight. He made up his mind to remain in the Corps after the war and make military service his lifelong career.Īfter the war Butler was ordered to the Philippines, where Filipino rebels were waging a brutal guerilla campaign against their American occupiers. One minor skirmish was all Butler saw of the Spanish-American War, but it led to a major decision in his life. It only lasted a few weeks, then he was off to Guantanamo, Cuba, where he first heard the whine of enemy bullets and felt the fear and excitement of combat. His military education was left entirely in the hands of a grizzled sergeant major. There was no Officer’s Candidate School or Platoon Leader’s Class for young Butler. When his father discovered Smedley’s deception he was understandably upset, but he also admired his son’s patriotic determination and ultimately gave him his blessing. Then and there, Butler became an officer in the Marine Corps. The colonel, of course, knew Congressman Butler, and he also knew that Smedley was lying about his age, but he signed him up anyway. When his father refused, he went directly to Marine Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he introduced himself to Colonel Charles Heywood, the commandant of the Corps. Since he was still under age (although he looked older), he asked his father to help him enlist. Determined to take part in the great adventure, he heard that the Marine Corps had openings for a few new second lieutenants. When war was declared with Spain in 1898, Butler was just 16 and still in school. While there is no evidence to suggest that the elder Butler ever used his considerable influence to promote his son’s career, the Navy Department was certainly aware of his powerful position and may well have taken steps to protect the headstrong Smedley in his many future altercations with his superiors. congressman and chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee. A Young Start to a Long Careerīutler was born into a prominent West Chester, Pa., Quaker family on July 30, 1881. Butler, who in the course of a contentious, adventure-filled 33-year career in the Corps garnered 16 decorations, including two Medals of Honor, while also gaining a well-earned reputation for battling higher authority-often in public. The annals of the United States Marine Corps are filled with the names of mavericks known not only for their fighting skills, but for their offbeat personalities as well.

Marine corps general smedley butler