Unsung Heroes: Eugene Jacques Bullard

When the United States entered the war, the United States Army Air Service convened a medical board to recruit Americans serving in the Lafayette Flying Corps for the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Forces. Bullard went through the medical examination, but he was not accepted, as only white pilots were chosen.^[10] Some time later, while on a short break from duty in Paris, Bullard allegedly got into an argument with a French commissioned officer and was punished by being transferred to the service battalion of the French 170th Infantry Regiment in January 1918.^[14] He served beyond the Armistice, not being discharged until October 24, 1919.^[13]

Bullard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris, 1954

Interwar years

For his World War I service, the French government awarded Bullard the Croix de guerre, Médaille militaire, Croix du combattant volontaire 1914–1918, and Médaille de Verdun, along with several others.^[14][18] After his discharge, Bullard returned again to Paris.

Bullard found work for four years as a jazz drummer in a nightclub named "Zelli's", which was owned by Joe Zelli. Bullard worked with Robert Henri, a lawyer and friend, to secure a club license, which allowed Zelli's to stay open past midnight. This led to Zelli's becoming the most celebrated nightclub in Montmartre, as most other area cabarets still closed at midnight.^[28] Following his time at Zelli's, Bullard departed for Alexandria, Egypt, where he performed with a jazz ensemble at Hotel Claridge and fought two prize fights.^[28] He also hired musicians for private parties with Paris' social elites, worked as a masseur, and an exercise trainer. Bullard later managed a nightclub "Le Grand Duc", where he hired the American poet Langston Hughes.^[28] Around 1928, Bullard was able to buy "Le Grand Duc" from Ada "Bricktop" Smith.^{[citation needed]} As a popular jazz venue, "Le Grand Duc" gained him many famous friends, including Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, Langston Hughes, and French flying ace Charles Nungesser. He eventually became the owner of another nightclub, "L'Escadrille". Bullard's Montmartre fame was such that Ernest Hemingway based a minor character on Bullard in his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises.^[28]

Bullard also opened Bullard's Athletic Club, which was a gymnasium offering physical culture, boxing, massage, ping pong and hydrotherapy. He also worked as a trainer for noted boxers Panama Al Brown and Young Perez.

On July 17, 1923, he married Marcelle Eugénie Henriette Straumann, (b. July 8, 1901) a milliner from Paris' second arrondissement.^[29][30] They later separated, though they did not divorce because both were Catholics.^[31]

When World War II began in September 1939, Bullard, who also spoke German, agreed to a request from the French government to spy on the German citizens who still frequented his nightclub.

Following the German invasion of France in May 1940, Bullard volunteered and served with the 51st Infantry Regiment (French: 51^e Régiment d'Infanterie) in defending Orléans on June 15, 1940. Bullard was wounded, but he escaped to neutral Spain, and in July 1940 he returned to the United States.

Bullard spent some time in a New York hospital and never fully recovered from his wound. Moreover, he found the fame he enjoyed in France had not followed him to the United States. He worked as a perfume salesman, a security guard, and as an interpreter for Louis Armstrong, but a back injury severely restricted him. In 1945, he attempted to regain his nightclub in Paris, but it had been destroyed during the war. He received a financial settlement from the French government and was able to buy an apartment in Harlem, New York City.

In 1949, a concert by Black actor, singer and activist Paul Robeson in Peekskill, New York, to benefit the Civil Rights Congress ended in the Peekskill riots. These were caused in part by members of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts, who considered Robeson a communist sympathizer.^[32] The concert was scheduled to take place on August 27 at Lakeland Acres, north of Peekskill. Before Robeson arrived, however, a mob attacked the concert-goers with baseball bats and stones. Thirteen people were seriously injured before police put an end to it. The concert was then postponed until September 4.^[33] The rescheduled concert took place without incident, but as concert-goers drove away, they passed through long lines of hostile locals, who threw rocks through their windshields.

Bullard was among those attacked after the concert. He was knocked to the ground and beaten by an angry mob, which included members of the state and local law enforcement. The attack was captured on film and can be seen in the 1970s documentary The Tallest Tree in Our Forest (see below) and in the Oscar-winning documentary narrated by Sidney Poitier, Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist. None of the assailants were prosecuted. Graphic pictures of Bullard being beaten by two policemen, a state trooper, and a concert goer were published in Susan Robeson's biography of her grandfather, The Whole World in His Hands: a Pictorial Biography of Paul Robeson.^[32]

Tallest Tree in Our Forest (1977) | Full Classic Documentary Film Film Masters TV Nov 15, 2025 #film #movie Detailed biography of famed singer, actor, athlete and activist Paul Robeson. Complete with several interviews and footage of concerts and film clips. About Film Masters: Film Masters is a consortium of historians and enthusiasts who seek to celebrate the preservation and restoration of films. We are archivists, committed to storing film elements for future generations and reviving films that have been sitting dormant for decades. By scanning in 2K and 4K, we give these lesser-known films the red-carpet treatment they deserve. Leveraging modern means of distribution to release forgotten films back into the world, we also produce original bonus materials—including feature-length documentaries, audio commentaries and historic articles—to contextualize and celebrate these works of art as they were meant to be. Follow Us: filmmasters.com facebook.com/FilmMastersGroup twitter.com/Film__Masters

Bullard in his later years, wearing on his shoulder the croix de guerre Fourragère, 170th Regiment distinction, and the cap of French war veterans

In the 1950s, Bullard was a relative stranger in his own homeland. His daughters had married, and he lived alone in his apartment, which was decorated with pictures of his famous friends and a framed case containing his 14 French war medals. His final job was as an elevator operator at the Rockefeller Center, where his fame as the "Black Swallow of Death" was unknown. On December 22, 1959, he was interviewed on NBC's Today Show by Dave Garroway and received hundreds of letters from viewers. Bullard wore his elevator operator uniform during the interview.

Bullard died in New York City of stomach cancer on October 12, 1961, at the age of 66.^[1] He was buried with military honors in the French War Veterans' section of Flushing Cemetery in the New York City borough of Queens. His friend Louis Armstrong is buried in the same cemetery.

Honors

Bullard received 14 decorations and medals from the government of France.^[13] In 1954, the French government invited Bullard to Paris to be one of the three men chosen to rekindle the everlasting flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe.^[10] In 1959, he was made a Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur^[10] by General Charles de Gaulle, who called Bullard a "véritable héros français" ("true French hero"). He also was awarded the Médaille militaire, another high military distinction.^[34]

In 1989, he was posthumously inducted into the inaugural class of the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.^[35] On August 23, 1994 – 33 years after his death, and 77 years to the day after the physical that should have allowed him to fly for his own country – Bullard was posthumously commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force.^[10]

On October 9, 2019, the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia, erected a statue in Bullard's honor.^[36]

There is a sign in Columbus, Georgia, near the site of the house where Bullard grew up, which describes his early life.

In 2022, Bullard was inducted with the class of 2020 into The National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.^[37]

1st row :

• Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honor)
• Médaille militaire (Military Medal)

2nd row :

• Croix de guerre 1914–1918 avec etoile de bronze (War Cross with bronze star)
• Croix du combattant volontaire 1914–1918 (Volunteer Combatant Cross)
• Croix du combatant (Combatant's Cross)
• Médaille des blessés militaires (Medal for Military Wounded)

3rd row :

• Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1914–1918 (World War Service Medal)
• Médaille interalliée 1914–1918, dite de la Victoire (Interallied Victory Medal)
• Médaille engagé volontaire (Voluntary Enlistment Medal)
• Médaille commémorative de la bataille de Verdun (Battle of Verdun Medal)

4th row :

• Médaille commémorative de la bataille de la Somme (Battle of the Somme Medal)
• Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1939–1945 (World War II Service Medal)
• Médaille commémorative des services volontaires de la France libre (Voluntary Service to Free France)
• Médaille des volontaires américains avec l'Armée Française (American Volunteer with French Army Medal)

In addition to the above awards, Bullard also received the French Pilot's Badge and the fourragere unit award.

Note – Bullard was posthumously eligible for the World War I Victory Medal (United States) as he was posthumously commissioned an officer in the United States Army with a date of rank that fell during the eligibility period of the medal.

In popular culture

In 1972, Bullard's exploits as a pilot were retold in a biography, The Black Swallow of Death by Patrick Carisella and James Ryan.^[38] Bullard is also the subject of the nonfiction young adult memoir Eugene Bullard: World's First Black Fighter Pilot by Larry Greenly.^[39]

The 2006 movie Flyboys loosely portrays a fictionalization of Bullard, called 'Eugene Skinner' played by British actor Abdul Salis.

In 2012–2014, the French writer Claude Ribbe wrote a book on Bullard^[40] and made a television documentary.^[41]

In the 2012 movie Red Tails, the fictional Col. A. J. Bullard (played by Terrence Howard), a thinly disguised representation of the World War II African-American Tuskegee Airmen's main commander, Lt. Col. (later Gen.) Benjamin O. Davis Jr., is given that surname in honor of Eugene Bullard.^[42]

In 2020, the progressive rock/metal project Telergy released the album Black Swallow, which portrays the life of Eugene Bullard.

In 2023, Now Let Me Fly, a biographical graphical novel of Bullard's life, was published by First Second publishing house.