Jérémie Vespers


The Jérémie Vespers refer to a massacre that took place in August, September and October 1964 in the Haitian town of Jérémie. It took place after a group of 13 young Haitians calling themselves "Jeune Haiti" landed on August 6, 1964 at Petite-Rivière-de-Dame-Marie with the intention of overthrowing the regime of François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier.
The 13 were: Max Armand, his brother Jacques Armand, Gérald Marie Brierre, Miko Chandler, Louis Drouin, Charles Forbin, Jean Gerdes, Réginald Jourdan, Yvon Laraque, Marcel Numa, Roland Rigaud, Gusley Villedrouin and Jacques Wadestrand.

Outcome

The massacre was called the "vespers" because many of the families killed by the regime are remembered as the families who took many aforementioned "vesper" picnic excursions.
Several of the group were from the town of Jérémie. During two months they fought in the hills, the regime ordered the arrest and murder of Jeune Haiti's family members. 27 people were murdered, ranging in age from 85-year-old Mrs Chenier Villedrouin to 2-year-old Régine Sansaricq.
The murdered were:
The members of "Jeune Haiti" were killed one by one in combat with Haiti's army, until the last two survivors, Louis Drouin and Marcel Numa, out of ammunition, were captured alive, brought back to Port-au-Prince and shot in public against the cemetery wall on November 12, 1964.