 Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on 8 June 1911, the son of Charles K. Nezu and Constance Theresa Keough.He had earned a civil pilot's licence in America and was also a professional parachute jumper with over 500 jumps, performing at air shows across America.He joined the French Air Force towards the end of the Battle of France, but as France fell he came to England with his friends and fellow Americans Andrew Mamedoff and Eugene Tobin and joined the Royal Air Force in 1940.