Eugene Bullard: The first African American Pilot in WWI

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Eugene Bullard's Story

Monday, February 2, 2009

Main Character: Eugene Bullard

Born in October 9th 1894 as a Creek Indian. His dad known as "Big Chief Ox" and his mom together had ten children. When he was young he had been stowed away on a ship headed towards Scotland to escape racial discrimination. While in the UK he worked as a boxer and he also worked in a music hall. On a trip to Paris he decided to stay and join the French Foreign Legion. Injured in 1916, two years after he joined the legion, near Verdun was awarded Croix de Guerre. Eugene then transferred over to the Lafayette Flying Corps and was finally assigned to 93rd Spad Squadron on August 17 1917. Their he flew some 20 missions and shot down 2 enemy aircraft. In 1917 when the US joined the war the US Army Air Service convened a medical board in August 1917 for the purpose of recruiting Americans serving in the Lafayette Flying Corps. Although he passed the medical examination, Eugene was not accepted into American service because blacks were banned from flying in US service at that time. He was discharged from the French Air Force after fighting with another officer while off-duty and was transferred back to the French infantry in January 1918, where he served until the Armistice. At the end of the war he went back to Paris and started working in nightclubs and eventually owned his own nightclub. He soon married the daughter of a French countess but the marriage soon ended in divorce, with Bullard taking custody of their two daughters. His work in nightclubs brought him many famous friends, among them Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, and Langston Hughes. When his town got invaded by the Germans he and his daughters fled south towards Spain. He was injured protecting his town and went to New York to heal. He spent the rest of his life in poverty and died of stomach cancer.

(Picture from http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/020925-O-9999G-020.jpg Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Bullard)

'Lucky' Herschel McKee

'Lucky' Herschel McKee was born November 19, 1897 in Indianapolis, USA. At the age of 16 he ran away from home an joined the French Foreign Legion to fight in WWII. At first he fought in the trenches, before catching pneumonia and being given his last rites. Despite three crashes in training, he then qualified as a pilot for the famed Lafayette Flying Corps and had 12 confirmed kills becoming the youngest Ace. Eventually he was shot down and captured before escaping to Switzerland. With the war over, Lucky returned to his home town. In 1919, he became a riding mechanic in the Indy 500-mile race, survived a crash in which the car turned over and burst into flames. Herschel became a daredevil motorcycle rider, started barnstorming, and continued his role as a riding mechanic probably -- some of the most dangerous occupations. After numerous crashes and lucky escapes, Lucky's flying experience saw him get involved with development of the Boeing B17 -- the so-called 'Flying Fortress'. He flew one on a test flight and skillfully handled it through a hailstorm. He joined the United States Air Force and was shipped to England to fly bombing raids over Germany during WWII. Lucky was decorated by General de Gaulle and survived a 1,000-foot jump from a crashing aircraft by landing in a haystack (That is why they call him "Lucky"). After the war, he continued to fly, piloting experimental aircraft. Lucky escaped death in three more crashes but 'The Man who would not die' finally did so aged 67, by succumbing to complications of a stroke. At his funeral, five women produced evidence of being married to him.

(Info from http://www.haynes.co.uk/press/Releases_HTML/081201_ManDie_haynes_press_release.htm Image at https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZzd9yp_cR1aYxCWv1yxTxP52VY1kuOIOe3rbHisYAGAbQwOca1P-zZLt3vd2G1IOA_4OvxGbXibbiPcfPTQ_kO0gYVoEGY83UgqFx6qJ8xfsoMebmbMihs5KlRKOE7-Ur5miIrbG7ik/s400/mckee+col.png)

Raoul Lufbery

Raoul Lufbery was born March 21, 1885, in Clermont-Ferrand, France, his father American and his mother French. Raised by his maternal grandmother, he set off at an early age for a life of adventure. His first encounters with Lafayette Escadrille did not go smoothly. Lufbery spoke English with a heavy French accent and had little in common with his comrades, most of them were from wealthy families. Once in combat, though, his dogged determination and success earned him the respect and admiration of his peers. One night while the squadron was resting in Paris, his fellow pilots adopted a lion cub from a circus, which Lufbery raised for several years. The cub's name was Whiskey.The first two victories were on July 30, 1916 over Verdun. By October 12, 1916 he had downed five enemy planes making him an ace and the squad's leader. On May 19, 1918, Lufbery took off in his Nieuport 28 in an attempt to intercept a German Rumplerreconnaissance machine near to the 94th's home airfield. Closing in to attack, the German gunner hit the Raoul's plane, setting it on fire. What happened next has been debated. At an altitude variously estimated between 200 and 600 feet, Lufbery either jumped out of the plane (to avoid a fiery death) or was thrown from the cockpit after it flipped over above the village of Maron. Some say Lufbery jumped from the plane in an attempt to land in a nearby river. His falling body struck a metal garden picket fence, and so Raoul died.

(Picture at http://www.neam.org/lafescweb/images/lufberystanding.jpg)
(Source at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raoul_Lufbery)

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Mood

My story will be suspenseful. It will be filled with lots of dogfights, bombing, and battles. One suspenseful part will be when Eugene is in the trenches, and they start getting fired at by the German's 150mm guns. He has to retreat then they will have to regain the ground they lost or they'll starve. At one point in the story the 12 Lafayette team members are outnumbered 3 to 1. They will be fighting and only 7 of them will be left after they kill all the Germans. Another suspense full part is when he is bombing a German base and Herchel's plane crashes. Although he fell 250 ft he comes out alive with minor injuries because he fell in a hay stack.

Setting

My story is during WWI in 1917. The beginning of my story will take place in Verdun, France. Verdun is where the Battle of Verdun took place. The Battle of Verdun was one of the bloodiest armed clashes in history. The two main forts for the French were the Fort Duoaumont (Above) and Fort Vaux. This takes place when Eugene was in the Foreign Legion, and Eugene will fight in it. With such bare land they will have to be very tough to survive.
(Source: http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Base/3495/FVerdun1a.html)

The second part of my story will take place in Evreux-Fauville Air Base. Eugene will chill because their isn't much action their, and Eugene will raid a German base with the Lafayette Flying Corps.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Évreux-Fauville_Air_Base)