The White King of La Gonave: The True Story of the Sergeant of Marines Who Was Crowned King on a Voodoo Island

The White King of La Gonave, first published in 1931, is the fascinating true story of U.S. Marine Sergeant Faustin Wirkus, who in 1925, was appointed Marine administrator of the small island of La Gonave, part of Haiti, to help bring order to the island's 12,000 inhabitants. Due to his helping the island's Queen Ti Memenne, and his reputation for fairness, Wirkus was himself crowned 'king' and ruled for several years before the elected president of Haiti pressured Washington for an end to the presence of an island king within the republic. During his stay on Haiti, Wirkus was admitted to many voodoo rituals and describes many voodoo practices in the book, as well as his many descriptions of his life and work on La Gonave. After Wirkus left the island in 1929, he also left the Marine Corps until 1939, when, as a Marine Reservist,he returned to duty to take charge of the recruiting station in Newark, New Jersey. In 1942, he served at Marine Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and then as an aviation gunnery instructor in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Wirkus fell ill in January 1945, and after a lengthy illness, died on October 8, 1945 at the age of 48. The Washington Post obituary stated, “The natives of La Gonave often said it would be a happy day if King Faustin II [Wirkus' title] could return, but not even the native voodoo could save him from the lingering illness which took his life today.” Included are 17 pages of maps and illustrations.