Foy Draper

Biography

Champion track and field athlete Foy Draper was born on November 26, 1911 in Georgetown, Texas. Draper attended the University of Southern California, where he won the IC4A championship in the 200 m in 1935. Moreover, at the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany Foy ran the third leg for the American 4 x 100 m relay team that won the gold medal with a world record time of 39.8. In addition, Draper reportedly held the world record for the 100 y dash at a time when it would have been a hand-timed 9.4. During World War II Foy served as a pilot on the twin-engine attack bomber A-20B 'Havoc' in Thelepte, Tunisia. On January 4, 1943 Draper and two crew members took off to fly to Fonduck, Tunisia to participate in the battle of Kasserine Pass. Foy and his two crew members never returned from said flight. His date of death is often cited as February 1, 1943. Draper's memory is honored at the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial that's administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission in Carthage, Tunisia.