Both the President and the Secretary of State informed the minister at Nicaragua to attempt to end the civil war and secure a guarantee of protection for American lives and property through diplomatic intercourse, but these arrangements soon proved futile. Sandino no longer attempted to hide the fact that his purpose was directed solely at American commercial intervention and the concessions granted to citizens of the United States by the Republic of Nicaragua.
After great deliberation and undue suffering by American citizens through Sandino’s practice of vicious banditry, the President ordered the Marines to Nicaragua merely to repel the constant pilfering of American property and to guard the safety of our citizens.
No sooner had the Marines landed at Managua, the capital of the little nation, merely in the roles of governmental police, than Sandino officially declared war upon them, killing three of their number in a surprise attack.
Back in the States, as word reached the public of the brutal murdering of American Marines, both the press and the people demanded that Washington either recall her sea soldiers or declare open war upon Sandino and his rebels, sending reenforcements immediately.
With the official report of more casualties in the Marine ranks and the further threatening attacks upon Americans that imperiled our industrial possessions, reenforcements were sent south and open warfare was declared upon the Sandino bandits.
When the Chief of Staff, the representative from the Navy Department and the Chief of Marine Aviation gathered in the office of the Major General, the Commander of the Marines explained the object of the meeting.
“Colonel, I have here a memorandum from the Secretary of the Navy,” he said, handing the Chief of Aviation a communication typed on official stationery. “The Secretary states that the President of Nicaragua has made an urgent request for a squadron of airplanes.”
The Lieutenant Colonel gazed down upon the official communication handed to him by the Major General as a sober shadow cast itself over his face.
“What is the opinion of the Marine Commander?” the Chief of Aviation asked. “Is he in accord with the President’s request?”
“The President’s appeal meets with the approval of the Commanding Officer of the Second Brigade, now stationed in that country, who further advises that a squadron of planes would be a decisive help in combating the outlaws.”