Eugene Bullard: World's First Black Fighter Pilot - Paperback

by Larry Greenly (Author)

A Booklist "Top 10 Multicultural Nonfiction for Youth" Selection

Finalist for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Southwest Region Crystal Kite Award

Winner of the 2016 Young Adult Silver Medal of the Military Writers Society of America

Pioneering black aviator Eugene Bullard, descended from slaves, became the world's first black fighter pilot, though he was barred from serving the United States because of the color of his skin.

Growing up in Georgia, Bullard faced discrimination and the threat of lynching. He ran away from home at twelve and eventually made his way to France, where he joined the French Foreign Legion and later the Lafayette Flying Corps. He saw fierce combat during World War I and was wounded multiple times. He returned to the United States with a chest full of medals, but once again faced discrimination. Bullard was all but ignored in the United States, even as, at age sixty-four in 1959, he was made a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor.

Eugene Bullard's is a remarkable story of accomplishment despite racial prejudice. Author Larry Greenly's biography includes numerous historical photographs of Bullard throughout his travels.

Front Jacket

This fast-paced and informative YA biography tells the story of pioneering black aviator Eugene Bullard from his birth in 1895 to his combat experiences in both World War I and II and, finally, his return to America. Before the United States joined World War I, a few Americans fought on France's side, including Eugene Jacques Bullard, the grandson of a slave. Eugene had faced discrimination in the U.S. and even the threat of lynching, but while growing up, he had listened spellbound to his father's stories about how France treated everyone equally. He ran away from home at twelve and eventually made his way to France, where he joined the French Foreign Legion and later the Lafayette Flying Corps, to become the world's first black fighter pilot. All the medals he received, however, weren't enough to fend off the prejudice he still faced when he returned to the United States.

Author Biography

LARRY GREENLY is a freelance writer and editor, and a writing instructor and lecturer. He has published numerous articles and columns; his albuquerqueARTS magazine literary section won first place in the 2009 National Federation of Press Women state competition and second place in the national competition. Eugene Bullard: World's First Black Fighter Pilot won second prize in the international SouthWest Writers Annual Contest.