29
July 1958 – 29 July 2006
This summary was sent to Fordi 9 in
remembrance of the 48th anniversary of the events
that took place on that day.
Submitted by Frantz Haspil
(Part 2)
Two different versions of this event exist
in writing.
The first one, according to Diederich,
claims that Papa Doc donned the uniform of a soldier
(a private in the Haitian Army) to facilitate his escape
in the mist of confusion. Diederich reports that Papa
Doc was ready to leave and had contacted the Columbian
Embassy to seek political asylum where he planned to
go with his spouse, while his children, under the protection
of Captain Pierre Merceron would be brought to the Liberian
Embassy. Papa Doc thought there were more than thirteen
invaders, and that they had the support of the entire
battalion of Casernes Dessalines. He scheduled his departure
for the next morning at dawn.
The second version is what Papa Doc
Duvalier himself wrote and claims. He put on a military
uniform as Commander in Chief; picked up his rifle and
helmet. He waited for dawn with cohorts of supporters
and gave the order to attack. The heavy 30 and 50 caliber
weapons in his possession, and the armored vehicles
he had ordered into the streets had quickly defeated
the enemy.
(The article published in Haiti Observateur mentions
the testimony of Captain Andre Fareau who reported,
“there were no amazons, no Duvalier cohorts to
defend the palace, no Commander in Chief giving orders,“
as written by Duvalier).
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What went wrong with the invasion that
could have stopped Francois Duvalier from destroying
during his reign every aspect of Haitian society?
The Molly C invaders could have been
overconfident. Perhaps there was a plan that involved
members of the Coast Guard, the Police and the Army.
(Note: 6) But reaching Port-au-Prince prematurely, precipitated
by the incident that took place in Deluge, may have
changed the agreed-upon strategy and thrown off the
participants. So what occurred in the night of 28 July
to 29 July 1957 may well have not been a planned coordinated
attack with supported elements to rejoin the group.
(Note 7) It seems to be a rather hasty decision, and/or
these men may have been sold a bill of goods because
no army, police or coast guard personnel was willing
or prepared, as they initially thought, to lend them
essential support. Another consideration is that, to
carry out the battle plan, Pasquet was counting on all
the weapons and ammunitions that were stored in the
Casernes Dessalines, unaware that they had been moved
to the National Palace.
Fordi 9 note:
Acccording to Claude Perpignant, Capt Fareau, upon his
return to Haiti from an earlier trip to the United States,
has communicated to Duvalier that, during a conversation
that he had with one of his trusted friends Henri Perpignant,
the latter was inquiring about arms and ammunitions
stored at the Casernes Dessalines.
According to Sergeant St Armand, alias
Camagüey, the duty sergeant at the Casernes Dessalines
that night, Pasquet (Note 8) asked him to go to the
nearby store of Mrs. Pierre Normil, to buy him a pack
of “Splendide” cigarettes, but he went instead
to the National Palace and informed Duvalier of the
number of men involved, the description of their weapons
and their positions. This action did not seal the fate
of the invaders as other sources provided the same information
within the same time frame.
Meantime during the early morning hours,
Pasquet tried in vain by phone to convince and rally
other young officers to his ranks. He called the National
Prison and told Major Gérard Constant to set
free several political prisoners, in particular ex-lieutenant
Raymond Chassagne and ex-captain Max Corvington. The
Major, wanting to know what was going on, and not liking
the fact that a lieutenant was ordering him, went to
the National Palace where he met with Captain Claude
Raymond, the President’s aide-de-camp. Captain
Raymond had earlier spoken by phone with Pasquet who
had urged him to join the rebellion against Duvalier.
By dawn, a different picture clearly emerges!
Colonel Louis Roumain, who was inside
the Casernes and held prisoner during the heavy pounding
of the Casernes by machine guns, escapes by falling
from a window breaking away from the chair where he
was tied up. He confirms to Captains Henri Namphy and
Jean-Baptiste Hilaire that the number of assailants
is only eight. A few minutes later, Lieutenant Pierre
Holly who also escaped from the Casernes gave the same
information to Captains Charles Pierre-Louis and Kesner
Blain. Fordi 9 Note: Around the same time, Lt. Charles
Lemoine, whose office was located across from Casernes
Dessalines in the Military Hospital, had a good view
of the group entering the Casernes in the Pick Up (Tap-Tap)
that was initially used from Montrouis. Using a short
cut by jumping the wall facing the Blood bank building,
behind the Military Hospital, went to the Army Headquarters
(Quartier General) to confirm that the group counted
not more than eight members. The four above-mentioned
captains were the ones who provided the military response
to the assault on the Casernes Dessalines. They placed
and used 30 and 50 caliber machine guns in strategic
positions. One was placed to cover the southwest corner
of the Casernes (the area known as Semaphore) (Note
9); another heavy machine gun was set up by the National
Museum behind the grand stand known as “les Tribunes”
on the Champ de Mars covering the eastern entrances
and the part of the Casernes facing the Champ-de-Mars;
another machine gun was positioned in front of “Palais
de Justice” (the high court building) to cover
the southwest entrances as well as the street in front
of the Casernes. Soldiers were positioned in front of
the “Quartier General” (Army Headquarters),
and the ministry of Finance Building. The main effort
of their forces was in the National Palace backyard
facing the back of the Casernes Dessalines. They effectively
surrounded the Casernes Dessalines, and all the escape
routes the rebels would be able to use.
When Duvalier was told that there was
only eight men, he decided to stay and fight. But the
assault on the rebels is not an order that the President
ever gave. The four Haitian Army Captains headed by
Captain Henri Namphy, were the ones that initiated the
go ahead to open fire on the Casernes.
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The assault on the Casernes Dessalines
started with a grenade thrown inside the Commandant’s
office where Alix Pasquet was making phone calls. His
head half blown off, he laid on his back looking at
a picture of Duvalier on the wall. That picture had
a bullet hole in it.
Arthur Payne was next to go. He draped
himself in a mattress, and asks for mercy claiming to
be an American news reporter. His legs were covered
with bandages. He must have been the one wounded at
Délugé. No mercy was given; he was killed
with a burst from an automatic weapon. (Note: 10)
The body of “Fito” Dominique
was also found in the same room. He had more bullet
holes in him than a strainer. His hand was still grasping
the handle of a machine gun.
Near him another body was found, that
of Joe Walker, the Captain of the Molly C. His tattooed
arms formed a cross around his neck, next to an empty
pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes. He had a bullet hole
in the ear.
At the other end of the room, seated
behind a desk, was Dany Jones’ body. He had a
bullet hole in the forehead.
The three surviving rebels (Kersten,
Hickey and Perpignan) tried to escape by crossing over
the military hospital (Hôpital Militaire). Their
strategic retreat in the Bois de Chênes was cut
short. (Bois de Chênes is a gully that runs behind
the military hospital)
Hickey was armed with a sub-machine
gun. As he ran, a soldier noticed him and shot him down
in the yard of the military hospital.
A wounded Perpignan ran in the yard
of Dr. Mondestin’s clinic. He asked a young boy
to hide him in a chicken coop, but as the roar of the
mob coming from down the street drew near, the boy overtaken
by fear tried to run away and got killed by Perpignan.
(Note 11) The sound of gunfire gave away his position,
and lead to his death. His naked body was later mutilated,
pulled throughout the streets of the city, and brought
to Duvalier at the National Palace.
The last one to die was Kersten who
had simply walked out of the Casernes, trying to mingle
with the crowd. But once recognized, he was killed by
machete. His mutilated body was also dragged in the
streets of Port-au-Prince before being taken to the
morgue.
By 9 AM, it was all over. All the invaders
were dead. Duvalier dressed in a military uniform, helmet
on, wearing a forty-five colt in a holster and another
in his belt, posed for pictures. He later led a triumphant
procession of cars in Port-au-Prince, accompanied by
Captain Claude Raymond and one of his Cabinet Ministers’
named Duvigneau.
Later on that day, many congratulatory
messages arrived at the National Palace. Among them,
those of two former Haitian Presidents: Franck Sylvain
and Elie Lescot. The irony of the moment is that Henri
Perpignan is a former aide-de-camp to President Lescot,
and also the nephew of Mrs. Elie Lescot.
Thus ended the events of 28 to 29 July
1958 recorded as the first armed attack against President
François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, and
from which he drew his aura of invincibility!
(seee Biobliography and sources) |
