ven before producing and directing the classic 1933 film , Merian C. Cooper lived a life silver cross “for acts of outstanding bravery and risk of life on the field of battle.” One of Poland’s highest military decorations, the is also one of the world’s oldest. First established in 1792, a very early recipient was, fittingly enough, 18th-century Polish and American military hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko—for whom Cooper named his squadron.
