A Marine's Letters from Nicaragua

The following story is about an extraordinary Marine, Thomas Grant Bruce, Master Sgt., Lt. in the Guardia Nacional of Nicaragua. Bruce was highly decorated, highly motivated and committed to the Corps, his men and especially his wife. He had earned the French Croix de Geure and Silver Star for his actions in World War I. He had been one of the Mail Guards after the war, participated in the Sesquicentennial celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, and served as a recruiter. He had been in Nicaragua for a couple of years of 1922-1924, then returned in 1927 which is the period these letters cover. The documents and letters used in this book came to light in an unusual way. I was giving history talks to visitors at the Tampa Bay History Center on the Fourth of July, and got into a conversation with a gentleman about the local history. He explained that he had an extensive collection of artifacts collected over the years and extended an invitation to see them. I was contacted by him a few days later and arranged an evening to view his collection. While there he brought out an old file box that he indicated that he had purchased it at a yard sale a few years prior. In it were the personal copies of enlistments, letters of commendations and a large group of letters written by M.Sgt. Bruce to his wife in 1927 from Nicaragua. He suggested that I take the box home and see what they all contained for he had never gone through all that was in the box. He was certain after reading my previous book, that I could tell a story with the contents of the box. I spent the next three days going through all the material and was astounded at the wealth of information that the box contained. The letters that Bruce wrote to his wife were very articulate, detailed and informative to his everyday life, duties, and actions that he had been in. It became clear that here was an exceptional Marine. His enthusiasm and dedication to his mission and his men was very apparent. It came across that he took his mission to thwart the actions of rebel leader Sandino as a very personal mission. These letters give a glimpse into a bygone era, one of the several 'Banana Wars' that the Marines were involved in during the early 1900's. From the details in his letters about his everyday activities to the descriptions of the battle that earned him the Navy Cross, it is a story worth telling. What follows is his story, a brief summation of his years leading up to 1927 which the letters from Nicaragua covers. His letters shed light on our involvement in that country those many years ago. Semper Fi