Some notes on Haiti, 1957-1986

Introduction.

On this page I set out some thoughts about Haitian uniforms in the days of “Papa Doc” and his son. As ever, what follows is merely a summary of the accessible online material, and I claim no expertise on the subject whatsoever. Any comments or clarifications will be gratefully received.

Organisation.

Under Duvalier Sr.

The story of civil-military relations in Haiti is far too dense to summarise here. Readers are directed to the excellent The Military and Society in Haiti by Michel Laguerre, which enlarges on the subject as much detail as one could wish for. The executive summary is that, having assumed power, Duvalier Sr. consolidated his position by purging the army leadership, installing loyal replacements, and establishing the Tonton Macoute (see below) as a counterweight to the army.

A declassified CIA memorandum of December 1965[1] gives the following:

• “The Haitian armed forces, including air and coast guard personnel, number approximately 4,800 officers and men…”

• “The secret police have no official name or status; Haitians refer to them as the Ton Ton Macoute… about 1,500 in number…”

• “The civil militia, dubbed the National Security Volunteers (VSN)… totalling around 10,000 members, the VSN is made up of weekend soldiers who are administratively separate from the regular military but assigned to assist the army. Only about one-third of the VSN members are armed – and these with antiquated pistols, revolvers and bolt-action rifles.”

A rather confusing aspect of the taxonomy follows. The Osprey title asserts that the term “Tonton Macoute” referred only to the secret police, and not also to the uniformed VSN.[2] This agrees with the CIA source quoted above, and feels wholly plausible – the analogy to the frightening child-stealing bogeyman of Haitian legend is apt for a secret police, and inapt for a public-facing, uniformed organisation. Keegan (see below) also distinguishes between the Macoute and the VSN. However, Laguerre, who for his title performed extensive research, and spoke to many Haitians who would have been in a position to know, calls the VSN the “Tonton Macoute” throughout his work. He says that the secret police “was the intelligence arm of the Tonton Macoute forces.” He uses the term VSN only one, and on that occasion treats it as synonymous with the Tonton Macoute. More or less all popular sources use the two terms interchangeably. I follow Laguerre and the general consensus and call the uniformed men Tontons Macoutes.

In December 1959 the Presidential Guard were removed from the army leadership and placed under Duvalier’s direct control.[3]

The only named army units one encounters for this period are the Presidential Guard just mentioned, and the Dessalines Battalion.[4] The remainder of the army was presumably “line infantry” and support services in the usual way.

The Presidential Guard was quartered inside the presidential palace itself, the Dessalines Battalion in the adjacent Dessalines Barracks.[5]

The Tonton Macoute grew out of Duvalier’s personal retinue in the late 1950s, and seems to have been formally established in 1958.[6] Organisation of the Macoute was incoherent and the men were irregularly paid.[7] One unit, the “National Palace Macoute”, seems to have enjoyed particular privileges.[8]

A man could be a member of the army and the Macoute simultaneously. “Military Tonton Macoutes”, writes Laguerre, “were regular members of the army who wore either the blue denims of the Tontons Macoutes or the khaki uniforms of the military at will.”[9]

The military academy was closed in 1961, apparently to give Duvalier greater control over promotions (i.e., more opportunities to dispense patronage).[10] His son eventually re-opened it. [11]

Under Duvalier Jr.

John Keegan’s World Armies, published 1979, gives a detailed picture of the position then prevailing:[12]

• The total strength of the armed forces is 6,550, of which – an army of c. 6,000, an air force of c. 250, and a coast guard of c. 200 . The army is divided into 35 companies, of which 21 are posted as gendarmerie to rural areas [the rest, presumably, are in the capital]. There are small armoured and artillery components, and the usual support services. The air force is responsible for both military aircraft and also the national carrier.

• The army possesses three élite units: the Presidential Guard (c. 750 men), the Dessalines Battalion, and the Leopard Battalion, a counter-insurgency unit (three companies).

• The NSV apparently averaged 14,000 men during the 1960s. Under Duvalier Jr. they were reduced to around 5,000-7,000, and “placed under the operational control of the army”. NSV personnel “[pursue] their private occupations most of the time.” The Leopards have taken over some of their duties.

• The Tonton Macoutes number between 1,500 and 8,000 men, with no formal organisation, “wearing civilian clothes but carrying side-arms”. Duvalier Jr. has been successful in reducing their numbers and curbing their excesses somewhat.

Laguerre notes that the Leopard Battalion was formed under Duvalier Jr., to act as a counterweight to the Tonton Macoute. The Osprey dates its establishment to 1971.[13] It was “trained by a Florida-based security agency with the blessing of the CIA. The members of that battalion were recruited from among the sons of Duvalierist families.”[14] It was stationed at Port-au-Prince.[15]

The Osprey title (published 1990) gives the organisation of the Haitian armed forces and armed services as they stood around that date – outside the scope of this review, of course.

The police

Port-au-Prince had a uniformed police force (organisationally, part of the army – 600 men). Policing elsewhere in the country was carried out by static army units – or, of course, by the Macoute (or the Leopard Battalion once it had been set up).[16]

General remarks.

The Air Corps seemingly did not have a distinctive uniform in this period – so far as I can see, it wore army uniforms with distinctive insignia.

The bird emblem. This eludes me entirely. I don’t lack for views of it, but what it actually is I have no idea. It was evidently a pro-Duvalier symbol, although it doesn’t seem to have been an emblem of his political vehicle, the Parti de l'Unité Nationale. It featured on the sleeve insignia of the Presidential Guard, and many Tonton Macoute cap and sleeve badges. I call it “the bird emblem” on this page. As a Tonton Macoute cap badge, it could be solid gold, or have central parts in a contrasting colour of some sort — I lack a good view of this [fig. 1A].

Gold buttons. The gold buttons on dress uniforms seem to have been the national arms, with the national motto in a circular scroll around it.

Armament. Two prominent features here. The presidential entourage, including the president himself, was heavily and openly armed at all times, leading to absurd sights like a besuited Duvalier Jr., chrome-plated pistol in hand, surrounded by Uzi-toting generals in their blue dress uniforms. The armed forces were not well-armed. The predominant weapon, for a long time, was a bolt-action rifle. The earliest type of weapon, and much seen, is a Mauser rifle of uncertain origin – perhaps the Belgian FN 24, although identifying weapons is far from my strong suit. By the time this review begins, the army had replaced some (but far from all) of the Mausers with Garands, and seemingly handed the Mausers down to the Tonton Macoute. Relatively modern weapons can be seen in the 1980s.

Locations. Almost all of the photographs and footage I have seen were taken in Port-au-Prince, and no doubt a less regular situation prevailed in the provinces.

Dates. The three main events which attracted foreign news agencies during this period were — the funeral of Duvalier Sr. and accession of Duvalier Jr. in April 1971; the tenth anniversary of Duvalier Jr.’s accession in April 1978; and the downfall of Duvalier Jr. in February 1986 — hence a majority of the material used here is from one of those dates. Alan Whicker made a typically whimsical journey to Haiti in 1969, and in the process was able to secure some very good uniform shots.

When were the different officers’ uniforms worn? The blue dress uniform was the “highest” order of dress, worn on appropriately grand occasions. The khaki dress uniform and the “pink and green” uniform seem to have been of equivalent standing, and it isn’t immediately apparent when each was supposed to have been worn. Most confusing is Duvalier Sr.’s funeral, where the Presidential Guard and engineers wore blue, the Air Corps wore pink and green, and other branches wore khaki (including the medical service, who also possessed the pink and green uniform). The white uniform was a “gala uniform” and probably restricted to the Presidential Guard.

Khaki. I use “khaki” here in the American sense of a light tan.

Rank insignia. A point of vital importance is that subalterns wore on their shoulders chevrons as marks of rank, not pips — misunderstanding this will lead one into many errors.

Patches of army units.

The Presidential Guard. An upwards-pointing triangle, worn on the upper left sleeve. A yellow border with uneven inner edge. It seems to be a “cross of Burgundy” type pattern. A red (upper) and black (lower) field, at about a 45 degree angle. The bird emblem, in white, above a scroll. The text is illegible but, presumably, “GARDE PRESIDENTIELLE”. The scroll is sometimes white, with black outline and text.

The Dessalines Battalion. Unclear. A Japanese Etsy type website furnishes a shoulder arc as follows, black outer outline, red inner outline, black centre, inside which, in white, “BATAILLON JN.-J. DESSALINES”, the “n” in “Jn.” in superscript. I am confident that this is the insignia for this unit, although I lack a good clear photo which would confirm it. This insignia seems to have always been paired with another insignia, worn directly below it. This is very confusing to me. This second insignia is a shield shape with central device. Usually the device is an “A”, but I have seen “B” and “C”, which makes me think perhaps the letters indicated the company its wearer belonged to? Accepting that this would be a strange arrangement. At any rate, the shield and letter were in a bright colour and the field a dark colour. I lack a colour view.

The Leopard Battalion. A black disc with red outline, inside which a scary leopard face. Yellow with brown spots, green eyes, white teeth and red tongue. Above the disc, a black arc with red outline (the disc’s outline merging into the arc’s) inside which, in white, “LEOPARDS”.

Orders of dress (Presidential Guard, Army, Air Corps)

Officers’ blue dress uniform. A dark blue cap and tunic. The exact shade varied but was often very, very dark. The cap all blue, with gold chinstrap and black leather peak. Gold coat of arms badge. Gold foliate embroidery (oak leaves) on the peak for generals and field officers, and also on the band for generals. A four-pocket open-collar tunic. Upper pockets with pointed flaps, and external pleated bodies, lower pockets with straight flaps and internal bodies. Four gold buttons. Cloth shoulder straps. Subalterns wore rank insignia pinned on, at the base of the strap. Field officers wore gold twisted cord shoulder straps buttoned on top of the cloth straps [fig. 9]. Generals had worn larger gold twisted cord shoulder straps, with bulbous ends, but they seem to have traded these for the field officer style by the time of Duvalier Sr.’s death. Generals and field officers seem not to have worn rank stars on their cord shoulder straps, curiously. Subalterns wore a narrow gold braid ring around the cuff, field officers a wide gold ring, generals a wide gold ring below a gold wreath with one or two downwards-pointing silver stars (according to rank) inside [figs 9-10]. At least one general wore a foliate ring instead of the regulation braid ring [fig. 11].  A white shirt and black tie. A gold aiguilette with two loops around the armpit and two cords fixed to the top button. A gold brocade belt. Straight trousers in either dark blue or light blue (see below paragraph), with broad gold stripe. Black dress shoes.

Officers’ blue dress uniform (problems). I can’t work out the system for wearing the aiguilette. My best guess is that it was supposed to have been worn from the left shoulder when medals were worn, and from the right otherwise. However, if this was the rule, it was broken constantly. I likewise can’t follow the thread with officers’ gold brocade belts. One sees several different types worn simultaneously (often by men of the same unit in the same photograph), and absent any better evidence I have to conclude this was a matter of personal taste. The types seen are: (a) a German-style belt with circular buckle and retainers either side. The buckle was the national arms surrounded by a ring; (b) a US-style belt with square buckle (on which, the national arms) and retainers either side; and (c) a belt with elaborate foliate detail (of varying patterns) and double-boss “S” clasp buckle [fig. 12]. Usually the belts were gold throughout, but some of types (a) and (c) had red upper and lower stripes. The men with star lower lapel badges (whom I take to be general staff) seem to have worn light blue trousers, with everyone else wearing dark blue, but I’m not sure.

Officers’ blue dress uniform (branch distinctions). It seems that, at the time Duvalier came to power, the system was that generals wore the national arms on their lower lapels. Other officers wore the national arms on their upper lapels and branch insignia on their lower lapels. By the time of Duvalier’s death in 1971 the system had changed to the following, which continued throughout his son’s reign and afterwards. All in gold metal unless noted. All branches had a small “R.d’H.” on their upper lapels. Presidential Guard: “GP” on the cloth shoulder strap next to the button [fig. 13]. Crossed rifles on the lower lapel [fig. 14]. The Presidential Guard sleeve insignia. General staff(?): a gold star with silver central device (unclear) on the lower lapel [fig. 15]. Engineers: a US-style castle on the lower lapel [fig. 16]. Infantry: I haven’t actually seen any officers, I don’t think, with crossed rifles but no Presidential Guard insignia – i.e., regular “line infantry”. Keegan writes that “élite army units have dress and parade uniforms of dark blue”, which implies that non- élite units do not.[17] At any rate, if infantry officers did wear this uniform, it would have been crossed rifles on the lower lapels.

Enlisted men’s blue dress uniform. I’ve only seen this used by the Presidential Guard. Very unclear details but evidently along the lines of the officers’ uniform. The cap seems to have been solid dark blue, with black chinstrap and peak. Gold “GP” badges on the lower lapels. The tunic had gold or yellow cuff rings. Dark blue trousers with yellow or gold stripe. Yellow rank chevrons. Some sort of fourragère off the left shoulder for the Presidential Guard. White gloves. What seems to be a blackened US cartridge belt.

Blue dress uniform (weapons). Presidential Guard mounting guard carried Garands, senior NCOs and officers sabres. An honour guard around Duvalier Sr.’s casket wore black Sam Browne belts, to which was fixed a silver scabbard, with chain suspension. They carried epées with gold hilts with S-shaped guards, no sword knots [fig. 21]. Officers in Duvalier Jr.’s entourage can sometimes be seen carrying Uzis.

Officers’ khaki dress uniform. A cap with a khaki crown and band, the band often a lighter contrasting shade in US style. Gold coat of arms badge. A khaki four-pocket open-collar tunic. Upper pockets with pointed flaps, and external pleated bodies, lower pockets with straight flaps and internal bodies. Four gold buttons. Cloth shoulder straps. All ranks wore metal rank insignia pinned to the straps. All ranks wore a narrow braid ring in a contrasting shade of khaki around the cuff.  A white shirt and black tie. No belt. Straight khaki trousers. Brown or black dress shoes. It seems that all branches could wear this uniform — insignia as per the blue uniform (above) or the pink and green uniform (below). An unidentified branch of the army wore this uniform with a small, unidentifiable lower lapel insignia [fig. 24].

Officers’ khaki dress uniform (problems). By analogy with the US army, the khaki dress cap should presumably have a medium brown chinstrap and peak, and no rank embroidery. However, in the photos one can also find black (or possibly very dark brown) chinstraps and peaks, gold chinstraps, foliate embroidery on the khaki band, khaki peaks with foliate embroidery, and black peaks with foliate embroidery. Gold Aiguilettes can be seen on some occasions, but not others. The same style as for the blue dress uniform, worn off the left shoulder. Fourragères, predominantly red but with black flecking, can also be seen sometimes, again off the left shoulder.

Officers’ “pink and green” dress uniform. Of broadly identical appearance to its WWII US prototype. Olive-drab cap crown and band, the band often a somewhat lighter and greener. Gold coat of arms badge. Olive-drab four-pocket open-collar tunic. Upper pockets with pointed flaps, and external pleated bodies, lower pockets with straight flaps and internal bodies. Four gold buttons. Cloth shoulder straps. All ranks wore metal rank insignia pinned to the straps. All ranks presumably should have worn a narrow braid ring around the cuff, although it is often missing in the photographs. It appears in various shades of khaki or brown (or gold?). An integral cloth belt with gold open buckle. A white shirt and black tie. No belt. Straight khaki-grey trousers. Brown dress shoes.

Officers’ “pink and green” dress uniform (insignia). Presidential Guard: same as the blue uniform. Air Corps: a vertical propeller, winged, on the lower lapel, and the silver pilot’s badge above the left breast pocket [fig. 26]. Medical: a caduceus on the lower lapel [fig. 27].

Officers’ “pink and green” dress uniform (problems). The same problems as for the khaki uniform – inconsistent cap decorations and aiguillette use.

Officers’ white dress uniform. I lack a good view of this. As far as I can see, the same as the blue uniform, but with solid white cap, white tunic, black trousers. This feels like it would’ve been restricted to the Presidential Guard.

Officers’ service uniform. The same cap as the khaki dress uniform. A khaki shirt with clipped-corner breast pockets and khaki buttons. Long sleeves to begin with, and short sleeves seem to have come in sometime during Duvalier Jr.’s tenure. The long-sleeved shirt was worn with collar closed, with black or dark brown tie; the short-sleeves shirt with open collar. Cloth shoulder straps with rank insignia. Collar insignia seems to have been branch insignia (or, for the Presidential Guard, their “GP”) on the right collar and “R.d’H.” on the left collar (see the section on the blue dress uniform for both). The Presidential Guard and Dessalines Battalion wore their upper sleeve insignia. Khaki trousers. More or less any kind of trouser belt – a US-style khaki slide buckle belt, or a leather belt of any style, or a pistol belt. Presumably brown shoes of some description. Pistols were very often carried, along with extra ammunition. Presidential Guard officers can often be seen with Uzis.

One single bit of 1982 footage shows a few Presidential Guard officers with khaki Eisenhower-style jackets and yellow US-style shoulder cords (not fourragères) over the right shoulders [fig. 31A].

Enlisted men’s service uniform. A khaki garrison cap in US style, worn without insignia, or a khaki cap with brown chinstrap and peak, and gold national arms badge, or sometimes a green M1 helmet or helmet liner. 1986 photos show a cap in a much more olive-green shade, with green band and black chinstrap and peak. A khaki long-sleeved shirt with clipped-corner breast pockets and khaki buttons, worn open at the neck. Later, short-sleeved shirts can be seen. Cloth shoulder straps. Presidential Guard men wore their “GP” on both collars [fig. 34]. I assume other branches wore, or were intended to wear, their own insignia on both collars, but I can’t find any in the source material. Certainly many men had no collar insignia at all. Yellow upwards rank chevrons on dark backing (when appropriate) worn on each mid-upper sleeve. Khaki trousers, or by the mid-1980s trousers in a “jungle green” sort of shade [fig. 35]. Presumably the same miscellany of trouser belts as the officers in this order of dress. When carrying Garands or Mausers they wore olive-drab US cartridge belts, with FN FALs, olive-drab pistol belts with appropriate pouches. A couple of men (Presidential Guard?) can be seen in late photos with Uzis and pistol belts. Unclear footwear – black or brown boots of various descriptions. The Presidential Guard and Dessalines Battalion wore their upper sleeve insignia. In one piece of 1969 footage, a single Presidential Guard man seems to have a red band painted around his helmet liner.

Enlisted men’s fatigue uniform. This uniform evidently evolved over time – the lack of source material makes it any sort of precise dating impossible. Photographs from the time of Duvalier Jr.’s overthrow in 1986 show men in generic green fatigues and baseball cap-style green fatigue caps. Green M1 helmets or helmet liners. Black boots of various styles. Yellow upwards rank chevrons on dark backing (when appropriate) worn on each mid-upper sleeve, or occasionally in metal form on the collar. Material for earlier periods is scarce, and not in colour. Generic WWII US-style fatigues in khaki or darker colours. Belt equipment followed the weapons. Olive-drab US cartridge belts when carrying Garands, olive-drab pistol belts with appropriate pouches for the M-14 or FN FAL (the latter seem to have used M-16 magazine pouches [fig. 38]). One or two men can be seen with canteens but overall equipment is light. Some men on crowd-control duties also carried pistols. The Presidential Guard and Dessalines Battalion wore their shoulder insignia.

Distinctive features of particular units.

The Presidential Guard. More or less everything I have to say about this unit is contained in the section on orders of dress above.

One officer can be seen at Duvalier Sr.’s funeral in blue Presidential Guard dress uniform, but with a caduceus on his lower lapels instead of crossed rifles. There was an organic medical component in the Guard, perhaps.

This unit carried two colours on parade. One was the national flag, fringed. The other [fig. 39] the same design and dimensions as the national flag, except: no white box around the national arms; the bird emblem in the canton (white bird, brown… rock, whatever it is) the bird facing the hoist; gold “GARDE PRESIDENTIELLE” below the arms. Gold fringe. Gold spearpoint finials. A white colour belt with straps crossing at the back.

The Presidential Guard band dressed as seen [fig. 40]. A lyre badge in gold metal on the collar, and in yellow below the rank chevrons. Red trousers with broad yellow stripes, black shoes.

This unit had Garands by 1971 and in 1986 carried M-14s and Garands. I assume it must have had FN FALs, if the Dessalines Battalion had them.

The Dessalines Battalion. I lack a single good view of this unit, so what follows is pieced together from various places and may be partially or totally incorrect. This unit seems to have had a distinctive dress uniform, in the style of the blue dress uniform but in a soft blue-grey colour. The cap had a dark blue band and black peak. All ranks had the national arms cap badge. Officers had the standard gold “R.d’H.” and crossed rifles on their lapels, the enlisted men seemingly had nothing. All ranks seem to have had gold cuff rings. Men had a fourragère off their left shoulder (predominantly red, presumably with black flecking), officers a gold aiguilette. Officers wore blue-grey breeches with gold stripes, and high black boots. The men had black US cartridge belts and Mauser rifles, the officers black Sam Browne belts and epées with gold hilts with S-shaped guards, no sword knots, silver scabbards. Remarkably, one image in the Getty archive is close enough to allow “GARDE D’ HAITI” to be read on the blade.

The unit seems to have also had dark blue or black trousers for all ranks, with gold stripes, worn with the blue-grey caps and tunics [fig. 44]. What situations called for what trousers, I cannot guess.

Another order of dress in 1971 (in b/w unfortunately) [fig. 45] is a khaki service cap and shirt, with dark tie, and dark trousers with stripes (the dark blue or black ones mentioned above, presumably), tucked into high boots with side buckles. All ranks wear the Battalion’s upper sleeve insignia, and fourragères.

1985 footage shows a figure in a vivd blue uniform with gold cuff rings and fourragère on the left shoulder, who may be of this unit [fig. 46].

The unit carried a colour – seemingly, the national flag, fringed, with a row of white text below the white box. The unit’s title, presumably.

In 1986 at least some men of this unit had FN FALs.

Other flags. The Dessalines Battalion, and I think also the Presidential Guard, had fanions on long staffs. The overall design the national red and black, and letters or numbers in the centre – unclear.

The Leopard Battalion. These men’s camouflage uniform seems to have suited them for all orders of dress – the Getty archive has a rather lurid image of them enjoying a gala luncheon in full camouflage, including helmets. The uniform was a shirt, trousers, slouch hat and covered M1 helmet in a somewhat desaturated version of US “duck hunter” camouflage. Olive-green Ridgeway caps were also worn. The slouch hat was worn either turned up on the left, or towards the back in “Robin Hood” style, and sometimes worn with a gold national arms badge. The distinctive insignia was worn on the upper left sleeve. NCO chevrons were in subdued colours – the standard black on green presumably. No other insignia was generally worn, although a general connected with this unit wore his star on his slouch hat and crossed rifles on his lapels. These men carried M-16s or Uzis, with belts and pouches. The magazine pouches look like WWII vintage, intended for different weapons.

Vehicles were painted a solid green. The National Palace had a tank parked in a garage, facing out at the street — I can’t presently remember where I saw this but it was a Stuart, from memory. The only insignia I have seen is pictured above, in dismal quality [fig. 52]. This appears in 1982, painted on the door of a truck. A predominantly yellow central device flanked by the national flag hanging down at either side.

The Coast Guard. I’ve seen a few officer's’ dress and service uniforms, in US navy style. Distinctive features were the cap badge (pictured) and the lapel badges — a “R.d’H.” on the upper lapels and what seems to be a miniature version of the cap badge on the lower lapels [fig. 53]. The service uniform seems to have had a badge on the left upper sleeve as pictured [fig. 55] — a light rope pattern(?) border around a dark centre with a light central device of some sort. Possibly some variant of the cap badge. I’ve never seen any enlisted men, but a 1962 US Army publication puts them in white US navy style uniforms with white “dixie cup” hats [fig. 57]. This was not a significant branch of the armed forces.

The Port-au-Prince police. Dark blue cap with black band. Black leather chinstrap and peak for enlisted men. Officers had gold chinstraps and embroidery according to rank, along the lines of the blue dress uniform – but olive leaves rather than oak. Incredibly, one man can be seen in 1971 footage with a highly polished blue stahlhelm [fig. 60], perhaps from obsolete Dominican stocks. Light blue shirt with long or (later) short sleeves. Collar insignia seems to have been a gold “R.d’H.” on the right and crossed pistols on the left [fig. 59]. Dark blue trousers with black shoes. US army style webbing solid buckle trouser belts or pistol belts. Pistols or (later) Uzis. Rank insignia seems to have been of army pattern. NCOS wore yellow rank chevrons on a dark backing. One man seen in 1982 wears an indistinct upper left sleeve insignia [fig. 60A] If these men had a dress tunic, I haven’t seen it.

The military academy. Seen, indistinctly, in a single photo. A grey tunic with standing collar and breast pockets. Shoulder straps piped a dark colour. Gold buttons. Gold  “R.d’H.” insignia on the left collar. White crossbelts with gold central plate of some sort. Everything else is unseen.

The Tonton Macoute

I’m going to approach this topic a little differently. The uniforms of the Macoute are a difficult thing to describe – on the one hand, no two men dressed exactly alike; but, on the other hand, the Macoute’s appearance overall is somewhat more homogenous than one might have supposed, especially when one considers its haphazard and regionalised organisation, and the extreme poverty of the country. So, what I’m going to do here is to simply describe, in approximately chronological order, the various different uniforms I’ve seen. I think this is a better approach than trying to quest after a “regulation” uniform – if regulations did exist, they weren’t too widely respected. I define a “uniform” as the dress of any particular group of Macoutes in the source material – the identity of the units wearing them is, sadly, usually unknown.

A closely related point to the last item is that the source material is overwhelmingly photos and footage taken in Port-au-Prince, and so one would assume a bias towards Macoute units stationed there or nearby. It seems however that units from remoter areas (see Uniforms 1, 5 and 6) could visit the capital for ceremonies.

The uniforms show two chronological developments. The worst-dressed men appear early (Uniforms 1 and 3). The smarter open-collared tunic is first seen by me in 1969, and the trend throughout the 1970s and early 1980s seems to have been towards a more coherent and police-like appearance. By 1984, when the Macoute held a large rally to celebrate their 26th anniversary, a significant change had taken place. The uniform is now more peasant-like, less police-like, and red scarves (hitherto never a feature of the uniforms seen by me) are universal – see Uniform 14. The fact that these uniforms are seen on such a wide scale suggests new uniform regulations, and/or a large issue of new clothing. I thought I had found some corroboration for this on Wikipedia, which asserts that the Macoute “was bestowed new uniforms” to mark their 1985 anniversary. In fact, Wikipedia’s purported source only says that Duvalier Jr. and his cabinet were “sporting brand-new blue Macoute uniforms” on that occasion.[18] Nevertheless, I think it very likely that there was a new issue of clothing in the earlier 1980s.

I should note, in passing, that I have never encountered the lurid spade-shaped violet patch with skull (much seen online) in the source material.

Uniform 0. Footage from the time of Duvalier Sr. shows some striking figures in his personal entourage – men of sinister mien with neat civilian outfits and sunglasses. Various weapons, from Mausers to Cristobal carbines. Duvalier himself favoured a very cool modified M2 carbine with foregrip.

Uniform 1 [fig. 65]. Pictured in Port-au-Prince in 1963, in b/w. The caption describes these men as “from Haiti’s outlying areas”. Shirts and trousers or overalls in denim or other heavy materials. Civilian belts and shoes. The predominant headgear is a cap in vaguely “Ridgeway” style, sometimes with a cloth chinstrap. A few men have garrison caps or army-style peaked caps. On all headgear a bird emblem badge, or the national arms, or nothing. A handful of men have Mausers, and two with the attitude of officers have pistols, but the rest are unarmed.

I should note that, throughout this section, when I say “unarmed”, I mean, not carrying arms visibly — no doubt many of these men had pistols tucked into their waistbands.

Uniform 2 [figs. 66-68]. Pictured in Port-au-Prince in 1969 in unfortunately low-quality footage. An blue peaked cap, open-collared tunic and trousers. The cap with black leather peak and chinstrap, and the bird emblem(?) in gold. White shirts and red ties. The tunic has breast pockets and presumably also skirt pockets. Red piping around the cuffs. An unclear badge right lower lapel and crossed rifles(?) on the left. A white-edged insignia on the upper left sleeve. Blue trousers piped red. Officers with grey trousers or breeches and tall black boots. Black Sam Browne belts and machetes. Mauser rifles. These men may have been the “National Palace Macoutes”.

Other men in the same scenes are dressed generically, with blue shirts and trousers, and either blue peaked caps or straw hats. One carries a Thompson.

Uniform 3 [fig. 69]. Pictured in Port-au-Prince in 1970. Blue shirts and trousers. Civilian belts and shoes. Hats are mainly straw hats or blue pork pie hats (with grommets to take a badge, though no badge is present). This is the only unit I have seen with red distinctions, prior to the outbreak of red scarves in the 1980s – some of the pork pie hats have red cords, one man has a red cloth visible in his breast pocket, and another has red shoes. A few men have red cloths tied from their left shoulder straps(?) which may have served as an indication of something (rank?). A few men are entirely in civilian dress. Some carry Mausers (sometimes with US cartridge belts) and the rest are unarmed. One man, exceptionally, wears a green M1 helmet liner.

Uniform 4 [fig. 70]. Pictured in 1976. Blue shirts and trousers — the men are hatless. One has red trouser piping. An unusual sleeve badge as shown. A black (upper) and red (lower) disc with what seems to be a border of white text, and an unclear white central device. Perhaps the bird emblem with something below it. Black civilian belts and shoes. The men prominently carry revolvers.

Uniform 5 [fig. 71]. Pictured in Port-au-Prince in 1978. Helpfully, these men carry a sign identifying themselves as the “Milice du Nord” – one of the Haitian départements. A greyish blue peaked cap with black leather peak and chinstrap. Blue denim shirt and trousers, the trousers the same shade or darker than the shirt. Civilian belts and shoes. Cap badge the national arms in gold. No weapons.

Uniform 6 [figs. 72-73]. Pictured in an unclear location in 1978. One man carries a splendid colour – rectangular, black (r.) and red (l.), with gold text and fringe. The legible text seems to read “VOLONTAIRES / FORT-L…”. I’d venture to complete this as Fort-Liberté, capital of the Nord-Est département. These men are well turned out, although the tunics and trousers are visibly of a rough denim-esque material. Blue cap with dark greyish-blue band, black leather peak and chinstrap. A blue open-collar tunic. Considerable variety in the number and colour of buttons, and the style of pockets (though all tunics had four, so far as I can see). Generally, four gold buttons, scalloped pocket flaps and external pocket bodies, pleats on the breast pockets. Cloth shoulder straps. Red piping around the cuffs. The left sleeve (re: insignia) unfortunately not visible. A white shirt and black tie. Blue trousers, with or without red stripes, and black shoes. No external leather belts – one figure seems to have a fabric belt the same colour as the tunic. White gloves. A gold bird emblem cap badge. Most men have no collar insignia but a couple seem to have a gold “VSN” and a crossed something. Officers have black Sam Browne belts and light blueish-grey trousers with red stripes, tucked into black jackboots. No visible rank insignia. The ensign has a black shoulder belt. The men carry Mauser rifles and the officers large machetes, with black scabbards worn on the left hip.

Uniform 7 [fig. 74]. Pictured in 1978. Poorly turned out – blue shirts and trousers (denim and other materials), civilian belts and shoes. Faded purplish-grey caps with black leather chinstraps and peaks. One man has a gold national arms badge. No weapons.

Uniform 8 [fig. 75]. Pictured in 1978 in b/w. Peaked caps and shirts. One man has a bird emblem on his cap and a “VSN” badge on his right collar. A round white-edged upper left sleeve patch.

Uniform 9. An undated photo shows a group of men and an officer dressed like Uniform 2, including the red neckties. A large national flag, with gold fringe, is carried. The men are armed with Mausers. The photo is well-circulated online but it seems to have been taken off Wikipedia because of a rights issue(?) so I avoid it here.

Uniform 10 [fig. 76]. Pictured in 1981. A very dark blue (almost black) cap, shirt and trousers. An elaborate and unidentifiable gold cap badge.

Uniform 11 [fig. 77]. Also pictured in 1981, in b/w. A cap (seemingly made from denim) with contrasting band and bird emblem cap badge with “VSN” below it. An unidentifiable white-edged upper left sleeve insignia.

Uniform 12 [fig. 78]. Also pictured in 1981, and unfortunately in b/w. A similar uniform to Uniform 2. This is a closer view, and shows the men’s left sides. On the left lower lapel we have a crossed rifle and machete badge (right lapel unclear), and on the upper left sleeve a disc with the bird emblem in white on red and black, a broad white border with text “V S N” (top) and something illegible at the bottom. It isn’t “Fort-Liberté” or “Nord-Est” (re: whether this is Uniform 2 or just dressed like it). “Fort-Dimanche”, perhaps. Mauser rifles and one Garand.

Uniform 13 [figs. 79-80]. 1982 footage shows the Macoute of Bouzi, in the Nippes département. Blue peaked caps with bird emblem, blue short-sleeved shirts and trousers. On the upper left sleeve a white-bordered disc with white bird emblem and red/black field. One man has a badge on his left collar (crossed rifle and machete, I think), the right collar is unseen. The others have plain collars. Another has a rifle and US cartridge belt. A wholly generic uniform, but a valuable view of an identifiable provincial unit.

Uniform 14 [figs. 81-83]. The Macoute held festivities in Port-au-Prince in 1984 to celebrate their 26th (sic) anniversary. We see an enormous crowd of Macoutes, and they seem fairly coherently turned out – albeit, the quality of the source footage here is miserable. Blue short-sleeved shirts and trousers. Blue jungle hats seem to have predominated, then peaked caps, then peaked fatigue caps. There seems to have been a youth wing which wore blue garrison caps. Red scarves are more or less universal. I lack a good view of the belts. Quite a few men are wearing army boots, with trousers tucked in, the reset presumably civilian shoes. A wider distribution of insignia than on earlier occasions – hat badges (national arms or bird) and circular or triangular white-edged sleeve patches are much in evidence. Rifles (type unclear) with US cartridge belts, or machetes.

Uniform 15 [fig. 84]. Pictured in Port-au-Prince in 1986, in b/w only. Peaked cap with contrasting band. leather chinstrap and peak. A short-sleeved shirt and contrasting tie. Cap badge the bird emblem. A patch on the upper left sleeve – the bird emblem in white, the field divided in half black (r.) and red (l.). A crossed rifle and machete badge one collar, something else (an “R.d.’H.” badge?) on the other. No visible weapons.

Uniform 16 [fig. 85]. Undated but “late”. Blue peaked cap or side cap, blue short-sleeved shirt and trousers. Some sort of triangular insignia on the upper left sleeve. Wooden rifles of some sort.

Uniform 17 [fig. 86]. Pictured in Port-au-Prince in 1986 on the day of Duvalier Jr.’s departure. A blue shirt and cap or shapeless beret. Another white-edged bird emblem disc upper left sleeve emblem. The one man I can make out clearly carries a Garand.

Image credits.

Everything here is from Getty Images unless noted.

Figs. 1A, 81, 82: Wilner Nau on Youtube.

Fig. 4: Institut National de l'Audiovisuel.

Figs. 5, 45, 69: Alamy.

Figs. 19, 20, 31A, 39: "Haitian History" on Youtube.

Figs. 32, 42, 51, 61-63, 66-68: Yorkshire Television.

Fig. 43: Huntley Film Archives.

Figs. 44, 83: "TheFistiball" on Youtube.

Fig. 46: Dr. Comeau Rene on Youtube.

Figs. 50, 52, 60A, 79, 80: "Haïti Lutte Contre-Impunité" on Youtube.

Figs. 56, 57: US Army.

Fig. 84. Maggie Steber.

Fig. 85. ITN.

Fig. 86. Fundação Padre Anchieta.

Footnotes.

1. CIA-RDP79T00472A000600050013-7.

2. Osprey Publishing, Central American Wars 1959-89, 47.

3. Laguerre, The Military and Society in Haiti, 110-111.

4. Laguerre, 88.

5. Keegan and others, World Armies, 285. I take this as true for the Papa Doc era also.

6. Counting backwards from their 26th birthday in 1984.

7. Laguerre, 116-118.

8. Laguerre, 117.

9. Laguerre, 117.

10. Laguerre, 111.

11. Laguerre, 113.

12. Keegan, 283-288.

13. Osprey, 36.

14. Laguerre, 113.

15. Laguerre, 174.

16. Keegan, 286-7.

17. Keegan, 287.

18. Abbott, Haiti: a Shattered Nation, 169 (on my epub copy, anyway — it’s in chapter 11).