America’s First Black Fighter Pilot Was Also a Boxer, Night Club Owner, and WW2 Spy in France

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2020

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

One of the greatest unsung heroes of the twentieth century is Gene "Jacques" Bullard, a World War One fighter pilot, boxer, spy, and overall adventurer. He was the first American-born black fighter pilot in history- and he flew for France. Bullard grew up in Georgia and ran away from home after a lynch mob forced his father to flee and leave his family. He ran away from home and lived with gypsies, then hopped on German freighter to Scotland. He then continued his sojourn as a pro boxer, then as a drummer and assistant nightclub manager in Paris during the Jazz Age. Bullard took advantage of all the opportunities in Europe that would be denied to a black man back in America. He married a white socialite in Paris, opened a successful nightclub, and joined the French Foreign Legion. After being wounded, he joined the French Air Corps during WWI and shot down two German planes. Prior to World War Two he worked a spy for French Intelligence. He rejoined the Foreign Legion in WWII but was wounded and transported on a hospital ship to New York City.

Bullard spent the rest of his life as part of the French expatriate community in New York and was a fixture of the city’s multicultural life.

Today’s guest is Jon Hagadorn, host of the podcast “1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries.” He shares the fascinating life of a man whose story is worth remembering.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of North America podcast is a sweeping historical saga of the United States,
0:09.4	Canada, and Mexico from their deep origins to our present epoch.
0:14.2	Join me, Mark Vinet, on this exciting, fascinating epic journey through time, focusing on the compelling,
0:20.8	wonderful, and tragic stories of North America's inhabitants, heroes, villains, leaders,
0:27.1	environment, and geography.
0:29.5	I invite you to come along for the ride.
0:44.3	History is in just a bunch of names and dates and facts.
0:47.5	It's the collection of all the stories throughout human history that explained how and why we got here.
0:52.9	Welcome to the History and Plug podcast, where we look at the forgotten, neglected, strange,
0:57.9	and even counterfactual stories that made our world what it is.
1:02.0	I'm your host, Scott Rank.
1:13.1	Eugene Boulard lived one of the most interesting lives in the 20th century.
1:16.9	He was the first American-born Black fighter pilot and he flew for France in the foreign
1:21.2	Legion.
1:22.2	He grew up in the South and his father left home when he was only 12 years old, so he ran
1:25.8	away from his home in Georgia and lived with gypsies, then hopped a German freighter to
1:29.9	Scotland, washed up in Europe with almost no money, but managed to rebuild his life.
1:35.3	First becoming a professional boxer, then becoming a drummer and jazz clubs, and then
1:39.3	becoming an assistant nightclub manager in Paris during the Jazz Age.
1:42.6	He joined the French foreign Legion and after becoming wounded, became a fire pilot in
1:46.3	the French Air Corps during World War I.
1:48.4	He married a white socialite, he owned nightclubs, and then became a spy for French intelligence
	...

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