Hollywood and WWI -- The Adventures of Merian Cooper
By Aaron Rosenthal
Staff Writer
Merian Cooper began his service with his admittance into the Naval Academy in 1911. Unfortunately for himself, he was known to champion the value of air power, a view the Navy frowned upon at the time. His outspoken view would ultimately lead to his expulsion from the academy.1
Merian Cooper Photo: American Polish Cooperation SocietyStill thirsty for adventure, however, he proceeded to join up with the Georgia National Guard in 1916 and found himself a member of General Pershing’s American Expeditionary Force, tasked with the capture of the Infamous Mexican Revolutionary, Pancho Villa. Following the Mexican Revolt, the US entered World War I. Merian followed Pershing again, this time to Europe, where he finally received the opportunity to practice what he preached at the Naval Academy, air power.2
DH-4 aircraft such as Cooper flew for the AEF.Merian Cooper became a pilot in the US Army Air Service in 1917, where he flew a DH-4 Bomber. He was sent to France, and saw combat soon after arrival. In 1918, Cooper was shot down over Germany and captured. Cooper would spend the last two months of the war in a Prisoner of War camp.
Upon his release, the future film maker appears to have found himself dissatisfied with his service, for he proceeded to join Herbert Hoover’s American Relief Administration, the successor to his United States Food Administration. This government agency was responsible for distributing aid to war torn Europe. During his service, Poland, a country that received a particularly large amount of US Aid, was put to the test with the onset of the Polish-Soviet War, as Vladimir Lenin’s Red Army launched a full-scale invasion of the newly reborn state.3
Fortunately for the Poles, who found themselves outmatched in the war, Cooper and several air service men from the Great War, founded the Kościuszko Squadron. The squadron was made up of American Volunteers who flew for the Polish military.
Cooper and his squadron of American heroes became invaluable to the Polish war effort, and flew dozens of successful missions. They bombed, strafed, and disrupted Soviet positions and maneuvers, wherever the opportunity presented itself. Finally, on Merian Cooper’s seventieth mission, he was shot down once again, and was captured by Soviet Cossacks. Cooper became a Prisoner of War for the second time in less than five years.4
While Merian Cooper’s first tenure as a POW was cut short, only two months with the end of the Great War, he would not be so lucky this time and would therefore have to improvise. After nine months of incarceration, he executed a successful escape and proceeded to embark on a long journey from Moscow all the way to Warsaw, a journey of over 700 miles. Upon his return, he was awarded with the Virtuti Militari, Poland’s most prestigious military medal, along with the rest of the Kościuszko squadron.5
After this, Cooper somehow made his way to Hollywood, and somehow became a film director. In his film career, Merian Cooper is most well-known for his 1933 film, King Kong, looked upon today as a timeless classic. The film has found a new revival, and has been the winner of many awards in recent years. These include the 2008 TV Land Award for “Best Movie to Watch at a Drive in”, admittance into the Online Film & Television Association Hall of Fame in 2009, and several prestigious nominations since 2005. King Kong is iconic and has been remade several times. To this day, Merian Cooper’s hand is certainly visible in the films conclusion, where ultimately it is air power that takes down the beast.6
Aaron Rosenthal is a Summer 2018 Intern with the U.S. World War One Centennial Commission.
- 1. Dinitia Smith, “Getting that Monkey off his Creator’s back,” New York Times, August 13, 2005.
- 2. Maciej Siekierski, “Memoirs of King Kong Director and War Hero at Hoover,” The Hoover Institution at Stanford University, March 4, 2014.
- 3. Zbigniew Chichocki, “Merian C. Cooper-Forgotten Hero of two Nations,” American Polish Cooperation Society, August 12, 2016, accessed June 11, 2018, http://www.americanpolishcooperationsociety.com.
- 4. Chickochi, 2016.
- 5. Siekierski, 2014.
- 6. Imdb.com, accessed June 13,2018, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024216/awards.
1933 King Kong Movie Poster.