04. Fortune lover

Merian C. Cooper’s life is a ready screenplay for a big blockbuster. He was born in 1893, in the south of the United States. In 1911, he joined the Naval Academy in Annapolis, but the superiors soon got fed up with his insubordination, chasing girls and bizarre views. Merian has been fascinated by aviation since childhood. As soon as he learned about the recruitment to the newly formed unit of American aviation, he enrolled himself without hesitation. In April 1917, the United States joined the First World War, in September 1917 Cooper was already in France. A year later, he bombarded the German trenches over Moza. While returning to his base, his aircraft was attacked by the German fighters. Cooper’s machine was in flames, and the second pilot, Ed Leonard, was shot in the neck. The flames burned his face and hands – Merian, however, wanting to save his friend, despite the terrible pain, piloted the plane with his elbows and knees. Rapidly diving, he suppressed the flames and landed safely, but unfortunately, on the German side of the front. His American relatives were officially notified that Merian Cooper died in the field of glory. Cooper kept his death certificate for the rest of his life, one of his friends added a small note on the certificate: “Speaking in the language of Mark Twain, your death is highly exaggerated.”