Dark Times
The Banana Wars were a dark time for the Marine Corps.
Marines killed prisoners, executed civilians as an attempt to intimidate locals for information, used forced labor, established concentration camps (an estimated 5,500 died in camps managed by Marines and Gendarmes), and persecuted Haitians based on their religious beliefs. Although this behavior wasn't the norm, the action of these Marines had a significant impact on how Latin American countries, and the world, viewed the Corps and the United States. We’ll briefly discuss a few theories why Marines acted this way in Monday’s episode.
In the Dominican Republic, Captain Charles F. Merkel was known as the Tiger of Seibo. His nickname is derived from the town he terrorized. In a statement against Merkel, Marine Gunner David Jones alleged he executed four prisoners with a machine gun and burnt down multiple houses in a village. Merkel would deny suspected rebels' water for days, open prisoners' wounds and pour salt into them, and cut off their ears. In one instance, Merkel attempted to intimidate the town for information by walking up to a man and shooting him in the head.
Although Merkel is undoubtedly responsible for his actions, the blame for these atrocities can also be pointed to his battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel George Thorpe. Thorpe's stated to his officers, "The only way we can settle this revolution is by drastic measures and that is to kill a whole lot of people." Thorpe thought Germans funded and led the Haitian rebellion and encouraged his Marines to kill civilians in retaliation. Many of his officers were accused of committing similar crimes. Captain Thad Taylor and a group of Marines captured a Syrian national and accused him of murder. The Marines shot and killed him and Taylor, "took a dagger and driving it in his throat slashed down to the abdomen." Thorpe took the coward way out and denied any wrongdoing. He put the entire blame on Merkel, but letters Thorpe wrote to his chain of command strongly suggested that he knew about it and allowed this behavior.
Merkel was arrested on September 30, 1918. At 0930, Marine Private Howard Sampson heard a gunshot and ran towards Merkel’s cell. Somehow, the Tiger of Seibo obtained a .380 Savage automatic pistol and shot himself in the head. In the official report to the Commandant, Pendleton stated that Merkel snuck the gun into his cell, but some Marine historians believe a couple of officers visited his cell the night prior and gave him the pistol with a single round. In his suicide letter, he stated, "I am doing this in order to save disgracing the Marine Corps and myself," he goes on to say, "but I sincerely hope that god will punish Thorpe someday for he is not fit to have command of anything, and his sole object is to get people into trouble." Merkel was never court-martialed.
Marine poses with dead Haitians killed by machine gun fire on October 11, 1915. Bettmann Collection - Tulsa daily world., October 16, 1915, MORNING EDITION
An October 1921 article from the Merced Sun-Star discussing killings of Haitians by U.S. Marines
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