Smedley Darlington Butler was a Major General in the U.S. Marine Corps, an outspoken critic of U.S. military adventurism, and, at the time of his death, the most decorated Marine in U.S. history. During his 34-year career he participated in military actions in the Philippines, China, Central America, the Caribbean during the Banana Wars, and France in World War I.

After he retired he became a well-known and outspoken critic of the US military-industrial complex and, and a popular anti-war speaker. His most well known work is his 1935 book War is a Racket, in which he described war as a money making enterprise.