Eugene Bullard was born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1895, the seventh child of a Black father and a Native American mother. By his teens, tired of racial discrimination and having witnessed his father’s near lynching, he stowed away on a ship bound for Europe, where he settled in Paris.
Eugene’s journey across the Atlantic marked the start of an extraordinary new chapter. He found himself in a city full of culture, arts, and a level of racial tolerance unimaginable in the U.S. Embracing the vibrant life of the Parisian streets, Eugene began to carve out a new identity for himself. He turned to boxing, a sport that allowed him to channel his physical prowess and offered a platform where his talent and determination, rather than the color of his skin, defined his worth and where he began to build a reputation.
Shortly after World War I began in 1914, Eugene volunteered for the French Army. He became a machine gunner, fighting in battles for nearly two years until he was seriously wounded in 1916. After recovering, Eugene earned a pilot’s license and became a pilot. He then joined the French Air Service, making him the first African-American military pilot and one of the few Black combat pilots during World War I.
After the war, Eugene played in a jazz band, owned a nightclub and sports club, married, and had children in France. But as tensions arose in the 1930s, he was recruited to spy on German patrons at his nightclub, as he was also fluent in German. And when the battles of World War II began, Eugene once again served in combat as a machine gunner until he was wounded.
In 1940, he moved back to the U.S., where he lived until passing away in 1961.
Sources:
“Eugene Bullard.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Bullard
“Eugene Jacques Bullard, first African American combat pilot in uniform, First World War.” Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eugene_Jacques_Bullard,_first_African_American_combat_pilot_in_uniform,_First_World_War.jpg
Pisano, Dominick. “Eugene J. Bullard.” National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Magazine, https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/eugene-j-bullard
What a great man. I’m surprised that there’s no book ( maybe there is ) or movie made about his extraordinary life. May he Rest in Peace.
What a fascinating man. Yes- so deserving of a biography.