Editing Merian C. Cooper (section)

===Georgia National Guard===
In 1916, Cooper joined the Georgia [[United States National Guard|National Guard]] to help chase [[Pancho Villa]] in Mexico.<ref name="hoover">{{cite web|title=Memoirs of King Kong Director and War Hero at Hoover|url=http://www.hoover.org/news/memoirs-king-kong-director-and-war-hero-hoover|website=Hoover Institution|publisher=Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University|date=4 March 2014|access-date=11 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427054908/http://www.hoover.org/news/memoirs-king-kong-director-and-war-hero-hoover|archive-date=2015-04-27|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was called home in March 1917. He worked for the ''El Paso Herald'' on a 30-day leave of absence. After returning to his service, Cooper was appointed lieutenant; however, he refused the appointment hoping to participate in combat. Instead, he went to the Military Aeronautics School in [[Atlanta]] to learn to fly. Cooper graduated at the top of his class.<ref name="living dangerously" />{{rp|24–25}}