American Merian C. Cooper escaped from a Soviet prisoner of war camp
American soldiers and volunteers participated in the Soviet Civil War and the Soviet-Polish War after World War I. Merian C. Cooper, an American pilot of Polish ancestry, was one of them. Cooper was shot down behind Soviet lines in July 1920, then captured and taken to a prisoner of war camp. He had been downed three times throughout the conflict. After at least one failed attempt at escape, his captors deemed him to be a handful and sent him to a camp for forced labor outside of Moscow.
He made the decision to flee after being prepared to be put to death by firing squad, which may or may not have been a Soviet bluff. After nine months in jail, he teamed up with two Polish captives to make another escape. Over 430 miles later, they had traveled to Latvia and were there when the war came to an end. Cooper read Russian fairy tales while he was imprisoned, including one named The Crocodile in which a wild gorilla kidnaps a young girl.
He was obviously impressed by the fairy tale. Cooper developed and directed the epic movie King Kong, which was published in 1933, rather than writing about his undoubtedly terrifying escape from the Soviet Union and Bolshevik armies during the 1930s. While in Soviet detention, Cooper penned an autobiography that was published in 1927; however, the following year, he had all copies of the book acquired and destroyed. Later, during World War II, he served as a staff officer with the renowned Flying Tigers in China and with the Fifth Air Force in the Pacific Theater.
Born: Merian Caldwell Cooper October 24, 1893Jacksonville, Florida, US
Died: April 21, 1973 (aged 79)San Diego, California, US
