Walter W. Waters

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Walter W. Waters was a former Army Sergeant in the United States Army who, in May 1932, led the 10,000-strong army of World War I veterans called the Bonus Army on their march to Washington, D.C.. The veterans were seeking pensions promised to them by Congress in a 1924 act. The army camped in the suburb of Anacostia (namesake of the Battle of Anacostia Flats) where Waters made his remark, "We're here for the duration and we're not going to starve." Waters was forced to tell his army the bad news that the Senate had defeated a bill that would give the veterans their bonuses immediately. On July 28, the United States government ordered the evacuation of the veterans from government property. Waters and his army went home after a brief skirmish.