Entitled: "Bullard served in the French Foreign Legion and became one of the most decorated soldiers during WWI." Eugene Jacques Bullard (October 9, 1895 - October 12, 1961) was the first African-American military pilot. At the start of the war in 1914, he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion where he was assigned to the 170th Infantry Regiment. Nicknamed the "Swallows of Death," he and his unit would see heavy action, and during the battle of Verdun. He was promoted to the rank of corporal and was awarded the Croix de Guerre, for his bravery during combat. In 1916 he talked his way into pilot training and earned his pilot's license to become the first African-American aviator. He reached the front lines as a pilot in August of 1917 flying more than 20 sorties in a Spad VII fighter biplane, with two unconfirmed kills. After the war, he remained in France, got married, had two daughters, and purchased a bar on the north side of Paris. At the outbreak of WWII, he worked with French Resistance forces to spy on German troops who would patronize his bar. He returned to the US, but was never recognized as a war hero, and died in relative obscurity and poverty in 1961.