This week's hero is...
Eugene Bullard!
Eugene Bullard was born on October 9, 1895 in Columbus, Georgia. As a child he and his family experienced terrible racism (including an incident where his father was almost lynched by a mob). He decided to leave Georgia when he was only 11. He joined a group of gypsies who travelled around the country. Due to experiencing terrible racism around the US, Bullard decided to leave the country and go to Europe. By 1913, he was living in France as a boxer. Little did he know, that he would face a challenge even bigger than anything he had encountered in his life.
In 1914, World War I broke out in Europe. Bullard immediately enlisted in the French Foreign Legion. During the war, he received the Croix de Guerre for valor while fighting at the battle of Verdun (one of the bloodiest battles in history). In 1916, he joined the French Air Corps. For a while he served as a gunner, but he eventually became a pilot. For the next two years of the war, Bullard flew on more than 20 missions and shot down at least one enemy fighter. As a result he became the first African-American pilot in history. However his time in the French Air Corps ended when the United States entered the war in 1918. When this happened, Bullard was transferred to an American infantry unit for the rest of the war.
After World War I ended, Eugene Bullard moved to Paris where he started a family. In the late 1930s, Bullard joined a counter-intelligence network that spied on the Germans in Paris. He and his family fled to New York City when the Germans invaded France in 1940. There Bullard worked as an elevator operator. In 1959, he was made a knight of the French Legion of Honor by French President Charles de Gaulle. Eugene Bullard passed away two years later on October 12, 1961. Although Bullard was considered a hero in France, he never much recognition from the United States. It was not until 1994, when the American Air Force posthumously promoted Eugene Bullard to 2nd Lieutenant.
Throughout history, there are many people who have had the potential to do great things for the world but never get the opportunity. One of the biggest obstacles these people face is racism. Eugene Bullard was one of those individuals. He grew up facing vicious racism and yet never gave up on his trying make his way in the world. He is definitely someone to be held in high regard.
https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/eugene-bullard-1895-1961
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/the-great-war-two-lives-eugene-bullard/
http://www.blackpast.org/aah/bullard-eugene-jacques-1894-1961
