MARCH 30, 2026 – Few have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Even fewer have been awarded two.
Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Smedley D. Butler was twice awarded the medal, the first for distinguished conduct during the occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, April 22, 1914, when he was a major.
Butler returned the medal to the Navy, believing his actions were not worthy of the nation’s highest award for valor. However, Navy Rear Adm. Frank Friday Fletcher returned it to him, ordering him to wear it.
Incidentally, Fletcher, who commanded the naval forces at Veracruz, was also awarded the Medal of Honor for the same battle.
The following year, Butler arrived in Haiti aboard the battleship USS Connecticut to quell an uprising by Cacos rebels.
On Oct. 24, 1915, about 400 Cacos ambushed Butler’s patrol of 44 mounted Marines as they approached Fort Dipitie, Haiti. Despite being surrounded by the Cacos, the Marines held their perimeter throughout the night and, at dawn, launched a successful counterattack.
Later that year, Nov. 17, 1915, Butler led three companies of Marines in capturing Fort Rivière atop Montagne Noire in northern Haiti. Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and future president, Franklin D. Roosevelt recommended that he receive the Medal of Honor for his actions, which was approved.
One of Butler’s senior noncommissioned officers, Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Daniel J. Daly, was also awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Haiti. Daly is the only other Marine to have received two Medals of Honor, the first for valor during the Boxer Rebellion in China, where he also served with Butler in 1900.
Although Butler served with valor during the Boxer Rebellion, he did not receive the Medal of Honor because, at the time, only enlisted Marines were eligible for the medal.
After his distinguished military career, and at the direction of President Calvin Coolidge, Butler, while still in uniform, was appointed the Philadelphia director of public safety, in charge of the city’s police and fire departments. He served successfully in this position from January 1924 to December 1925, rooting out protection rackets, bootlegging, prostitution, illegal gambling and other corruption.
Born July 30, 1881, in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Butler was commissioned a Marine second lieutenant at the age of 16, having lied about his age. In July 1898, he deployed to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, arriving shortly after its invasion and capture during the Spanish-American War.
Butler retired from the Marine Corps in 1931. In addition to Veracruz and Haiti, Butler also fought in the Philippine-American War in 1899, Nicaragua from 1909 to 1912, and World War I in 1918.
During his service in Nicaragua, Butler earned the nickname “Old Gimlet Eye” for his piercing stare. A gimlet is a hand tool for drilling small holes.
Other nicknames he acquired included “The Maverick Marine,” “The Fighting Quaker” and “Fighting Hell-Devil.”
Butler died of cancer, June 21, 1940, at the age of 58 at Philadelphia Naval Hospital. He is buried in Oaklands Cemetery near the place of his birth. His childhood home at West Chester, The Butler House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The destroyer USS Butler was named in his honor in 1942 and participated in the European and Pacific theaters of operation during World War II.
Additionally, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler, established in 1955 on Okinawa, Japan, is also named in his honor.
By David Vergun
Pentagon News