One of the bonus camps--that within 12th and 14th and B and C Streets, S.W.-was occupied principally by Communists headed by Pace. Possession of this government property had been seized and occupied by these marchers without any authority. During June and July, while the Bonus Army was present, Communist meetings were held in this city frequently. The files of this Department contain voluminous reports of these meetings, at many of which incendiary speeches and plans to stir the Bonus Army to violence and bloodshed were made. During the various disorders, including the final riot, persons identified as radicals and Communists were observed among the disturbers. There is irrefutable proof that a very large body of Communists and radicals, some ex-service men and some not, were in the city as part of the Bonus Army, circulating among them and working diligently to incite them to disorder.
</ref> In addition, [[John Pace]] also was sent in by the communists to stir up trouble.<ref>History.net article on the Bonus Army "In June, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the [[Wright Patman |Patman]] bill, but the Senate defeated the measure with a lopsided vote of 62 to 18. ...many of the marchers felt betrayed and disillusioned. With nowhere else to go, they decided to stay. Ominously, their disappointment festered in Washington's muggy summer heat. To complicate matters, at this point the American Communist Party saw an opportunity to cause trouble, and sent forth John Pace as the catalyst with instructions to incite riot. The degree of his success is uncertain and will be forever a matter of debate, but his presence alarmed the Washington power structure. The almost constant tension between the marchers and Washington police, coupled with the stifling summer heat, fueled frustrations on both sides, leading to confrontations that caused the police to ask for federal assistance. Historian Kenneth S. Davis theorizes that Pace may have had a hand in escalating the tensions, goading the angry veterans to become more aggressive. A more plausible explanation for rising tension may simply be that frustrations finally reached a boiling point.</ref> Although the [[House of Representatives]] passed a bill that would have given them their money, the [[United States Senate|Senate]] voted against it. [http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/bonusarmy.htm] The marchers did not leave. Fearing a coup, on July 28, President [[Herbert Hoover|Hoover]] deployed the military. General [[Douglas MacArthur]] led a strong strike against the Bonus Marchers where they were camped at Anacostia Flats in Washington, D.C., involving the use of tanks. While only one Bonus Marcher was killed when all was said and done, the reputation of Hoover had been permanently stained.<ref>http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/bonusm.htm</ref>
The movement to demand early payment of the bonuses did not go away, and in 1936, Congress overrode the veto of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]], and gave the veterans their bonuses early. Congress passed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 in an effort to prevent a similar scenario from occurring again.<ref>http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,111104_BonusArmy,00.html</ref>