Merian Caldwell Copper was born on October 24, 1893, in Jacksonville, Florida, when war was still considered a "manly adventure" and many places on Earth were still waiting to be discovered. It is no wonder that this descendant of a respectable American family spent his early years far from home: first fighting against the Germans (!) trying to conquer Europe, then traveling with his camera through poorly explored regions of Asia and Africa.
Why serving Poland was his duty
On October 11, 1779, during the Battle of Savannah, General Casimir Pulaski died of wounds in the arms of his great-grandfather, Colonel John Cooper. Merian's great-grandfather himself brought Pulaski, wounded on the battlefield, to the deck of the ship "Wasp". Cooper considered Pulaski his friend. He personally saw to it that 10 days after the General's death, when the ship docked to land, a symbolic funeral was held. Merian's great-grandfather, John Cooper, who fought side by side for the freedom of the United States with Casimir Pulaski, swore an oath over the body of the Polish General that he would one day repay this debt of honor. In the Cooper family, this message was passed down from generation to generation, and the memory of the heroic Pole who died for the United States became Merian's testament and shaped his entire life.
Merian Cooper’s military career began in 1912 when he was accepted to the Naval Academy, but did not graduate. Instead, he joined the National Guard. During World War I, he graduated from New York City’s flight school and then enlisted in the American Expeditionary Forces, which were sent to war in Europe. When his plane was shot down over Germany, he was captured for the first time, from which he managed to escape—but not for the last time.
Merian C. Cooper in Polish Air Force uniform (Source: Wikipedia)
His path to Poland — to “pay off a debt of gratitude” — was complicated. After the end of World War I, he found himself in Paris and reported to the head of the Polish military mission, General Tadeusz Rozwadowski, to whom he offered his readiness to serve Poland. He was an airman; officers of this weapon were in great demand, so in agreement with General Rozwadowski he went to Warsaw, where he renewed his offer directly to the Chief of State Józef Piłsudski, who accepted the offer reluctantly, stating that “we do not need mercenaries”. However, after a short hesitation, after Cooper uttered the famous words that “Gen. Pułaski gave his life for my country, which is why my family treats my service to Poland, when it is fighting for freedom, as a duty”, he convinced the Marshal. He agreed to recruit several experienced American airmen.
With Major Cedric Fauntleroy, whom Cooper had convinced to support his idea, more pilots were gathered, ready to serve in Poland. In this way, in mid-September 1919, a group of eight pilots arrived in Poland from France. Cooper became the deputy of Cedric Fauntleroy's squadron. The squadron's emblem was the US flag, scythes set upright and - the Kościuszko rogatywka! It was customary to call this squadron: "Kościuszko Squadron". Cooper commanded one of its two groups called "Pułaski". Major Fauntleroy wrote the following in a letter to Father Merian about the commander of the "Pułaski" group: "Merian seems tireless and fearless. The fiercer the fight, the more he likes it". It was the traditions of this formation that the famous 303 Squadron continued in the Battle of Britain during World War II.
At the time Merian and Cedric Fauntleroy's Squadron arrived in Poland, an armistice had been signed in Compiègne on the Western Front, and hostilities had ended in Belgium, France, and Italy. Meanwhile, throughout Central and Eastern Europe, conflicts had begun between nations and states that had emerged after the collapse of the Russian, Austro-Hungarian, Turkish, and Prussian empires.
The War with the Bolsheviks
The year 1920 comes. A huge Soviet army stands at the threshold of the Republic. Initially, it achieves victories on all sectors of the front. The commander-in-chief of the Western Front sector, known as the Soviet Bonaparte, Mikhail Tukhachevsky, announces: "Over the corpse of white Poland to the heart of Europe!"
American volunteers, Merian C. Cooper and Cedric Fauntleroy, pilots of the 7th Fighter Squadron (Source: Wikipedia)
The fight of Polish units under the command of Józef Piłsudski against the Bolsheviks continues. Fauntleroy's squadron - and pilot Merian Cooper - participates in these military operations, fighting against the 1st Cavalry Army of S. Budyonny. One of the Polish infantry commanders said the following about the American pilots: "(...) despite exhaustion, they fight like madmen. They perform their intelligence service brilliantly. Recently, during an attack by our division on the enemy, their commander attacked the enemy from behind and blasted the heads of the Bolsheviks with machine gun fire. Without the help of American pilots, we would have gone to hell long ago"!
The fearless Cooper is shot down by the Bolsheviks one day and taken prisoner, from which he manages to escape a year later, together with two Poles (Captain Zalewski and Lieutenant Sokołowski). In snow up to his knees, during the frosty winter of 1921, on foot, covering 800 kilometers (500 miles) — he makes it to Latvia.
After escaping from captivity, Józef Piłsudski awarded him the Knight of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari War Order, as well as other decorations, for his heroism and unconditional dedication to the Polish cause. When he received this order from Marshal Piłsudski (1921), he is said to have said: "We blushed, because we felt that we had not let her down, that we had perhaps served Poland a little"! He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by the Americans, which he did not accept for honorary reasons.
The Interwar Period
After the end of World War I, Cooper returned to the United States, where he worked as a journalist, while at the same time he loved to travel to less frequented places of the world. He became a documentarian and film producer in Hollywood. He made documentaries of his travels to Turkey and East Asia, wrote the script and became the co-director (and actor, personally piloting the plane attacking the great ape!) of the film King Kong (1933), which was a huge success. In 1952, he received an Oscar for it.
Merian Cooper in 1927 (Source: Wikipedia)
In the interwar years, Merian Cooper maintained ties with Poland and the Poles. In 1922, he published his memoirs in Chicago, "Faunt-le-Roy and his squadron in Poland. The history of the Kościuszko Squadron." In 1937, he became a member of the Polish Army Veterans Association in America, was active in the 100th Lotna branch and patronized fund-raising campaigns for the IJ Paderewski Disability Fund.
After the German attack on Poland in 1939, he organized a charity concert, the proceeds of which were intended to help the fighting Poland. During the war, he took care of Poles staying in the USA and met with Polish authorities. While in England, he also established contacts with the Polish 303 Squadron, which continued the traditions of the Kościuszko Squadron. He visited the 303 Squadron on March 14, 1941. Later, he sent the Squadron congratulations and occasional wishes many times. After the war, he maintained contacts with Polish pilots who had emigrated to the USA.
The battle of American pilots, including Merian Cooper, in defense of Poland against the Red Army unites Poland and America in the fight for the freedom of nations. The fate of this "one of the 18 most decisive battles in the history of the world" (these are the words of the British politician Edgar D'Abernon about the Battle of Warsaw) - because it saved (at that time!) Europe from Bolshevism - was also contributed to by the great-grandson of the American colonel John Cooper - Merian Caldwell Cooper, the hero of this text!
In 1966, this heroic American with Poland in his heart was honored with the Gold Cross of Merit with Sword by the Polish Government in Exile for his services to Poland.
He died — at the rank of general — on April 21, 1973 in San Diego, California. Towards the end of his life, he wrote in his biography: "When I sit as a civilian in my room in America, I think of those days when we flew under the banner of the White Eagle and I say, just like every one of my fellow officers: 'It was good to fight for Poland!'"
The Poles Do Remember
Poland does not forget its heroes! Every year on May 30th at the Lviv Eaglets Cemetery, ceremonies are (were?) held in honor of the American pilots. A monument was founded in Lviv to commemorate them.
In the Warsaw district of Bemowo, a street was named after Cooper (in 2008), and in Rzeszów (2018) – a roundabout. His image can be seen on the vertical stabilizer of a MiG-29 fighter, tactical number 105 from the 23rd Tactical Air Base in Mińsk Mazowiecki. The image was applied as part of the "Kosynierzy Warszawy" project organized by the Historical Foundation of Polish Aviation. In 2010, a biography by Marc Cotta Vaz "Szalone życie Meriana Coopera" (The Crazy Life of Meriana Cooper) was published (Wydawictwo Literackie 2010), and Andrzej Bartkowiak is preparing a film about Meriana Cooper.
In the USA, work has been underway for many years on a project to adapt the story of the fate of American pilots from the 7th Tadeusz Kościuszko Fighter Squadron. The initiator of the undertaking commemorating Merian Cooper and his colleagues from the squadron is the Foundation to Illuminate America's Heroes. Its co-founder and president of Genesis Productions Company LLC, which holds the rights to the film, William "Bill" Ciosek, told PAP that "The Battle of Warsaw unites Poland and America in the fight for freedom and glory thanks to the heroic commitment of Merian Cooper and his fellow volunteer American fighter pilots who came to the aid of Poland in its time of need, helped Poland defeat the Bolsheviks and partially paid off the American debt of the War of Independence to the great Polish heroes Kościuszko and Pulaski, who voluntarily risked their lives fighting for freedom in the War of American Independence".
Hollywood Star
Merian C. Cooper – a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – although with a mistake in the name: Meriam instead of Merian – as you can see, mistakes happen everywhere... Although – maybe it's not a mistake at all, after all, in Polish there is a well-known male name Marian. Maybe it's a sign that Merian had more in common with Poland, who knows?
A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6525 Hollywood Blvd., with a misspelled name (Source: Wikipedia)
As for the film, Mr. Ciosek told PAP that he has been working on the Cooper – Kosciuszko Squadron Hollywood Film Project for 10 years. "We are promoting the project in Hollywood and around the world, conducting research, gathering the necessary team of artists and producers so that this extraordinary story can be publicized in a great Hollywood film that will inspire the whole world. We have made significant progress in implementing the project and we very much hope that shortly after the November presidential elections in the United States we will be able to announce the full team of producers," says Ciosek.
He added that the creators the project’s authors would like to involve in the film include actor and director Mel Gibson, as well as Polish-American director Joseph Kosinski, known for his films “Tron: Legacy” and “Oblivion.”
From May 2023, you can also watch on YouTube a promotion of this future Hollywood blockbuster that will inspire the world and present the union of Poland and America in the glory of the fight for freedom. It is titled "The Greatest Story Never Told" .
Translation from Polish by Andrew Wozniewicz.
