Every month via email I get an awesome newsletter from the fine folks at the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum located in Huntsville, Alabama. It comes in a nice little PDF format and there are usually some great stories to read in there. Yesterday, while I was sitting on a plane I found two really interesting stories, one of which I'll give you a little info about.
Did you know that the first African American pilot to fly in a war didn't even fly for the United States? Could you believe that back before The Great War this man actually bet a friend $2000 that he could despite the color of his skin that he would enlist in the French flying service? How about if I told you this gentleman ran away from an abusive father in 1906 at age 11, only to end up in Aberdeen, Scotland by way of a German freighter that was bound for Germany in 1912. He spent six daring years before that voyage wondering around the South in search of freedom. That would have been pretty darn courageous in itself right there.
Eugene J. Ballard served as a fighter pilot in World War 1 with the Aeronatique Militaire and was said to have completed 20 combat missions with French flying units. When Americans joined the way he requested to join his homeland as a pilot, but due to racial prejudice he was rejected. So, he rejoined the 170th Infantry Regiment until he was discharged in late 1919. Evidently Ballard even flew with a Rhesus Monkey named Jimmy as his mascot. One more interesting fact is that he wore an insignia that showed a heart with a dagger through it with the slogan "All Blood Runs Red".
When Lt. Ballard (an honor bestowed on him posthumously by President Clinton) was discharged he went into the night club business in what was known as the Jazz Age in Paris. Bullard was friends with such names as Louis Armstrong, Langston Hughes, and Josephine Baker. He became such a great speaker of the German language while living in Paris that he assisted the French in becoming a Nazi spy. Nazi agents would frequent his club and Bullard did what he could to relay info back to the French government before the S.S. would eventually take over Paris in 1940. Upon joining a group of French fighters in defending Orleans, he suffered a horrific spinal injury. Later that year after fleeing to neutral Spain with his two daughters he returned back to life in his native land of the United States.
This war hero was unknown in his country during the last twenty years of his life. The great French President Charles de Gaulle was so impressed by this man's contributions to French History that he once sought him out on a visit to America. The United States government had no clue who this man was so they scrambled to find his whereabouts. The French President had a special gift for him when he found Bullard. Bullard was awarded the status of knight, better known as Chevalier of the French Legion Army. Eventually Bullard would receive his own bronze portrait, sculpted by the famous African American sculptor Eddie Dixon. This piece of work sits in the National Air and Space Museum.
This man had such an interesting history, that I could not fit everything I wanted to in this post. It is great that our country has published Eugene J. Ballard's contributions to military history, especially since he served human kind, France and the United States (though he technically did not serve the U.S.). It is said he may have been the first of his kind all around the world. Big thanks to the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum for shining the light on such a man in their recent newsletter. Also, thanks to the Smithsonian Institute and Harlem World Magazine, for their works recognizing Eugene Jacques Ballard.
Did you know that the first African American pilot to fly in a war didn't even fly for the United States? Could you believe that back before The Great War this man actually bet a friend $2000 that he could despite the color of his skin that he would enlist in the French flying service? How about if I told you this gentleman ran away from an abusive father in 1906 at age 11, only to end up in Aberdeen, Scotland by way of a German freighter that was bound for Germany in 1912. He spent six daring years before that voyage wondering around the South in search of freedom. That would have been pretty darn courageous in itself right there.
Eugene J. Ballard served as a fighter pilot in World War 1 with the Aeronatique Militaire and was said to have completed 20 combat missions with French flying units. When Americans joined the way he requested to join his homeland as a pilot, but due to racial prejudice he was rejected. So, he rejoined the 170th Infantry Regiment until he was discharged in late 1919. Evidently Ballard even flew with a Rhesus Monkey named Jimmy as his mascot. One more interesting fact is that he wore an insignia that showed a heart with a dagger through it with the slogan "All Blood Runs Red".
When Lt. Ballard (an honor bestowed on him posthumously by President Clinton) was discharged he went into the night club business in what was known as the Jazz Age in Paris. Bullard was friends with such names as Louis Armstrong, Langston Hughes, and Josephine Baker. He became such a great speaker of the German language while living in Paris that he assisted the French in becoming a Nazi spy. Nazi agents would frequent his club and Bullard did what he could to relay info back to the French government before the S.S. would eventually take over Paris in 1940. Upon joining a group of French fighters in defending Orleans, he suffered a horrific spinal injury. Later that year after fleeing to neutral Spain with his two daughters he returned back to life in his native land of the United States.
This war hero was unknown in his country during the last twenty years of his life. The great French President Charles de Gaulle was so impressed by this man's contributions to French History that he once sought him out on a visit to America. The United States government had no clue who this man was so they scrambled to find his whereabouts. The French President had a special gift for him when he found Bullard. Bullard was awarded the status of knight, better known as Chevalier of the French Legion Army. Eventually Bullard would receive his own bronze portrait, sculpted by the famous African American sculptor Eddie Dixon. This piece of work sits in the National Air and Space Museum.
This man had such an interesting history, that I could not fit everything I wanted to in this post. It is great that our country has published Eugene J. Ballard's contributions to military history, especially since he served human kind, France and the United States (though he technically did not serve the U.S.). It is said he may have been the first of his kind all around the world. Big thanks to the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum for shining the light on such a man in their recent newsletter. Also, thanks to the Smithsonian Institute and Harlem World Magazine, for their works recognizing Eugene Jacques Ballard.
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| Eugene Ballard, along with Jimmy his flying friend |
