24 Facts About Raymond Cassagnol

Raymond Cassagnol was Haiti's first World War II-trained combat fighter pilot in history.

Raymond Cassagnol was the author of the 2004 autobiographical "Memoires d'un Revolutionaire", published in French.

An alleged Haitian rebel leader and fierce political opponent of former Haitian dictator Francois Duvalier, Raymond Cassagnol is noteworthy for flying a B-25 aircraft over Duvalier's National palace in May 1969 in an attempt to bomb it.

Raymond Cassagnol was born on September 20,1920, in US-occupied Port au Prince, Haiti.

In 1937, Raymond Cassagnol worked with his two older brothers who were employed as mechanics.

Unable to afford college in Haiti, Raymond Cassagnol applied to the Haitian military.

In July 1942, Raymond Cassagnol responded to a Haitian government-sponsored newspaper ad seeking 40 airmen recruits.

Raymond Cassagnol was selected because he spoke four languages: French, Spanish, Creole and English.

Raymond Cassagnol regularly worked on Haiti's aircraft even after duty hours.

Unaccustomed to Jim Crow segregation as a member of a privilege Haitian citizen, Raymond Cassagnol made every effort to avoid leaving Tuskegee Army Training Field and Tuskegee Institute's campus, for fear of exposing himself to the humiliation of racial segregation and white southern hostilities.

Nonetheless, Raymond Cassagnol became fast friends and roommates with fellow aviation classmate Daniel James Jr.

On July 28,1943, Raymond Cassagnol graduated as a member of the Single Engine Section Cadet Class SE-43-G, earning his silver wings and subsequent promotion as a second lieutenant in the Haitian Air Force.

In 1947, now an entrepreneur in Haiti, Raymond Cassagnol obtained a private commercial pilot's license and initially worked as a pilot for the Dauphin Plantation, landing his plane at the Phaeton Airport.

Subsequently, Raymond Cassagnol sold his grounded aircraft to the Aviation Corps of Haiti for transport mail an personnel.

When Haiti held its presidential election in 1957, a non-partisan Raymond Cassagnol objected to president candidate Clement Jumelle, viewing him as a continuation of Paul Magloire's corrupt politics.

In 1961, Raymond Cassagnol met with General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo to devise plans to overthrow Duvalier.

Unfortunately, Raymond Cassagnol discovered that General Truillo had previously informed Duvalier three years earlier in December 1958 that Truillo had given armaments to Raymond Cassagnol and former Haitian senator Louis Dejoie, a fierce opponent of Duvalier.

In May 1969, Raymond Cassagnol flew a B-25 over Duvalier's National palace to bomb it.

In 1986 after Francois Duvalier's son Jean-Claude Duvalier was deposed from power, Raymond Cassagnol returned to Haiti after 17 years away from his native land.

Nonetheless, Raymond Cassagnol has not been recognized or welcomed by any of the Haitian government administrations since his 1986 visit.

In 1999, Raymond Cassagnol deeded 200 acres of land he owned in Haiti to a charitable organization.

In November 2000, at the age of 81, Raymond Cassagnol visited Tuskegee, Alabama and Tuskegee University after a 57-year absence.

In 2002, it was noted that, after living in Orlando, Florida for 20 years, Raymond Cassagnol had moved to Mobile, Alabama.

Raymond Cassagnol died in Florida on June 24,2023, at the age of 102.