For other characters named Brooklyn, see Brooklyn (disambiguation). Brooklyn is a Jewish veteran military service member and friend of Cotton Hill who served with him in the Pacific during World War II. His nickname "Brooklyn" derives from his hometown of Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn and Cotton also served with Fatty and Stinky, after a Tojo torpedo sank his troop's ship to the bottom. Cotton has other veteran friends also named Brooklyn; this particular character appears in the Season 1 episode "Shins of the Father" and is mentioned in the Season 2 episode "The Unbearable Blindness of Laying".
History[]
Season 1[]
In "Shins of the Father", Cotton explains how he lost his shins during WWII. Cotton was 14 years old when he lied his way into military service, knowing "Uncle Sam needed him" to recruit. Cotton states that after fighting the Nazis in Italy, he was sent to the Pacific, where a torpedo sank his troop's ship. Cotton managed to save three buddies—Fatty, Stinky, and Brooklyn—but the ocean had its own dangers. A Japanese plane strafed him, leaving him wounded and bleeding, drawing in the sharks. He had to let Fatty go. Stranded on an island crawling with enemy soldiers, he charged in, only to be caught in an ambush that blew his shins off. But Cotton did not go down easy—he took out the enemy with a piece of Fatty's body. When Cotton finally woke up in a field hospital, doctors were sewing his feet to his knees.
Season 2[]
In "The Unbearable Blindness of Laying", Cotton asks Gary Kasner if he knows a fellow Jewish person named Brooklyn, as he served with in the Pacific.
Quote[]
- Gary Kasner: "Happy Hanukkah".
- Cotton: "I served with one of your tribe in the Pacific. Name of Brooklyn. You know him?"
- Gary Kasner: "I know a Joe Brooks...stein".
- Cotton: "That's him!"
Trivia[]
- A "Tojo torpedo" is a reference to Hideki Tojo, a Japanese politician and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1941 to 1944, during World War II.