African Diaspora Book Club

America's First Black Military Aviator

Eugene James (Jacques) Bullard, the first African American combat aviator, was known as the “black swallow of death” for his courage during missions. He led a colorful life, much of it in Europe.

In August of 1917 Eugene Jacques Bullard, an American volunteer in the French army, became the first African American military pilot and one of only a few black pilots in World War I. 

He was born in Columbus, Ga., on Oct. 9, 1894. After witnessing the near lynching of his own father and other racial violence, Bullard ran away from home in 1906 at the age of 11. He traveled the world, and by 1913, he had settled in France as a prizefighter. 

When WWI started in 1914, he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion and rose to the rank of corporal. For his bravery as an infantryman in combat, Bullard received the Croix de Guerre and other decorations.