Eugene Bullard, Wwi American Pilot #1
by Science Source
Title
Eugene Bullard, Wwi American Pilot #1
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Science Source
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Photograph - Photograph
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Entitled "Bullard, posing in uniform with his pet monkey Jimmy, 1917." Eugene Jacques Bullard (October 9, 1895 - October 12, 1961) was the first African-American military pilot. As a teenager, he stowed away on a ship bound for Scotland, seeking to escape racial discrimination. Before the war began, he moved to Paris where he made a reputation for himself as a professional boxer. At the start of the war in 1914, Bullard enlisted in the French Foreign Legion where he was assigned to the 170th Infantry Regiment. Nicknamed the "Swallows of Death," he and his unit would see heavy action, and during the battle of Verdun, Bullard was wounded twice. He was then sent to a Parisian hospital to recuperate for the next six months. He was promoted to the rank of corporal and was awarded the Croix de Guerre, for his bravery during combat. While still in the hospital, Bullard accepted a bet that he couldn't get into the flying corps and in 1916 volunteered for the French gunnery school. A month later he talked his way into pilot training and earned his pilot's license to become the first African-American aviator. He reached the front lines as a pilot in August of 1917 flying more than 20 sorties in a Spad VII fighter biplane, with two unconfirmed kills to his credit. After a disagreement with a French officer he was eventually removed from the French air force and spent the remainder of the war back with his infantry regiment. After the war, he remained in France, got married, had two daughters, and purchased a bar on the north side of Paris. He was still living in Paris at the outbreak of WWII, and worked with French Resistance forces to spy on German troops who would patronize his bar. Considered too old to join the French army, he found a way to escape from occupied France, and returned to the U.S. aboard a Red Cross ship in 1940. In 1954, Bullard, along with two other French veterans, were invited by then French President Charles De Gaulle to light the flame of the Unknown S
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June 14th, 2016
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