“WAR is a racket. It always has been… It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.”
— General Smedley Butler, 1935

Smedley Darlington Butler was a United States Marine Corps major general, the highest rank authorized at that time, and at the time of his death the most decorated Marine in U.S. history. During his 34-year career as a Marine, he participated in military actions in the Philippines, China, in Central America and the Caribbean during the Banana Wars, and France in World War I. Butler later became an outspoken critic of U.S. wars and their consequences. He also exposed an alleged plan to overthrow the U.S. government.

By the end of his career, Butler had received 16 medals, five for heroism. He is one of 19 men to receive the Medal of Honor twice, one of three to be awarded both the Marine Corps Brevet Medal (along with Wendell Neville and David Porter) and the Medal of Honor, and the only Marine to be awarded the Brevet Medal and two Medals of Honor, all for separate actions.

In 1935, Butler wrote a book titled War Is a Racket, where he described and criticized the workings of the United States in its foreign actions and wars, such as those he was a part of, including the American corporations and other imperialist motivations behind them. After retiring from service, he became a popular [anti-war] activist, speaking at meetings organized by veterans, pacifists, and church groups in the 1930’s.

The above is taken from Wikipedia. I post it here [originally posted to facebook on Memorial Day of 2019], to show what kind of a man Butler was, and, hopefully, to encourage some to read his short book WAR IS A RACKET. Please click the link where you may either read it here online or download a (free) copy. It’s 12 pages total. Anyone can get through that.